# 消 — extinguish; erase

消 means “extinguish; erase”. It is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 10 strokes. On'yomi: ショウ (shou). Kun'yomi: き(える) (kieru), け(す) (kesu). You'll see it in words such as 消しゴム (keshigomu, “eraser; rubber”).

- Meaning: extinguish; erase
- On'yomi: ショウ (shou)
- Kun'yomi: き(える) (kieru), け(す) (kesu)
- Strokes: 10
- Level: JLPT N3 · set A bit of everything 1

## How to remember 消

Water (氵) leaves the flame a mere resemblance (肖) of itself: put out.

Sounds like 肖: both read ショウ.

Parts: 氵 water · 肖 resemblance

## Words with 消

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 消しゴム | けしゴム (keshigomu) | eraser; rubber |
| 消す | けす (kesu) | to erase; to rub out |
| 消える | きえる (kieru) | to disappear; to vanish |

## Don't confuse it with

[肖](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/resemblance/) · [脳](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/brain/) · [削](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/shave/) · [宵](https://moji.ninja/n1-kanji/early-evening/)

## More in the “A bit of everything 1” set

[米](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/rice/) · [革](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/leather/) · [夫](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/husband/) · [消](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/extinguish/) · [育](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/bring-up/) · [酒](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/sake/)

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From Moji Ninja (https://moji.ninja/), a free app for learning hiragana, katakana and the JLPT kanji from N5 to N1 with spaced repetition. Page: https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/extinguish/. Last updated 2026-11-01.