sǔn
verb HSK 7-9 #9,514

Meanings

  1. 1 to decrease
  2. 2 to damage
  3. 3 to harm

Examples

Zhècì shìgù zàochéng le hěn dà sǔnshī.
This accident caused great losses.
Bùyào sǔnhài biéren de lìyì.
Don't harm others' interests.

Tips

usage
Common in 损失 (sǔnshī, loss) and 损害 (sǔnhài, to damage).

Components

radical
shǒu
hand (radical form of 手)
Left raise-hand radical anchors in the manual-action family — handling, hurting, reducing — alongside family-mate grab, dig, itself "to harm." The hand carries the active verb force.
phonetic
yuán
member; round (here phonetic)
Right supplies the sound — yuán drifting to sǔn through a vowel-and-onset shift that's opaque now but regular historically. Same phonetic frame appears in fall, harm, perish. Combined with hand, reads "to reduce or damage by handling": 损失 loss, 损坏 damage, 损害 harm.

Stroke Order

sǔn