The kanji 削 (削) primarily means "to shave," "to pare," "to whittle," "to cut down," or "to reduce." It implies the removal of material from a surface or object, often to make it smaller, smoother, or more refined. This character conveys the action of gradually taking away something.

・On-yomi (音読み): サク (saku) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): けず(る) (kezuru)

⚫︎鉛筆を削る Translation: To sharpen a pencil. ⚫︎費用を削減する Translation: To cut down expenses. ⚫︎木を削って彫刻を作る Translation: To carve a sculpture by whittling wood.

The kanji 削 (削) is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, keisei moji). The semantic component is 刀 (katana, "sword" or "knife"), indicating the tool used for the action. The phonetic component is 肖 (shou/shou, meaning "resemble" or "be like"). The combination suggests "using a knife to pare down or reduce something".