消灭

消滅

xiāomiè

verb HSK 6 #3,236

Meanings

1 to annihilate; to eliminate; to wipe out
2 to perish; to die out

Characters

to disappear; to eliminate

to extinguish; to destroy

To make disappear and destroy — total annihilation.

Examples

我们要消灭一切害虫。

Wǒmen yào xiāomiè yīqiè hàichóng.

We must eliminate all pests.

恐龙已经被消灭了。

Kǒnglóng yǐjīng bèi xiāomiè le.

The dinosaurs have been wiped out.

消灭贫困是一个重要目标。

Xiāomiè pínkùn shì yīgè zhòngyào mùbiāo.

Eliminating poverty is an important goal.

他把剩菜全消灭了。

Tā bǎ shèngcài quán xiāomiè le.

He polished off all the leftovers.

Tips

usage

消灭 can be used humorously for finishing food: 把饭消灭了 = polished off the food. In formal contexts it means to annihilate enemies, eliminate problems, or eradicate diseases.

Stroke Order

消 xiāo

灭 miè