Taxonomy of meanings for 損:　　

  • 損 sǔn (OC: squunʔ MC: suon) 蘇本切 上 廣韻：【减也傷也蘇夲切四 】
    • REDUCE
      • vi0there is less and less of something
      • vichangesuffer loss, be reduced, get reduced; develop by way of decreasing one's activities
      • vimathematical termCHEMLA 2003:
      • vt+prep+Ndiminish
      • vtoNdiminish, subtract from;
      • vtoNpsychefface (oneself), diminish (oneself)
      • vttoN1[.+N2]N1=recipientreduce the supply for N1DS
      • feature: reduced>WEAK
        • vadVinsufficiently
        • vtoNcausativeweaken
        • causative: generalised>DAMAGE
          • vt[oN]be deleterious
          • vt+prep+Nimpair; do damage to
          • vtoNinflict damage on
          • vtoNmiddle voicebe damaged; be impaired
          • logically: contravene>CONTRARY
            • vtoNstativecontravene; be contrary to; be in violation of
          • with words>CRITICISE
            • perfective>DESTROY
          • object illness>CURE
            • presence>WITHDRAW
                • causative: inadvertently>LOSE
                  • vtoNlose (DCD 5)

            Additional information about 損

            說文解字: 【損】，減也。从手、員聲。 【穌本切】

              Criteria
            • PRAISE

              1. The current general word for praise is yù 譽 (ant. huǐ 毀 "speak ill of"), and the word often refers to straightforward objective praise rather than eulogy..

              2. Chēng 稱 (ant. bang 謗 "speak ill of behind his back") refers to "honourable mentioning" in public contexts and favourable public assessment of someone.

              3. Bāo 褒 (ant. biǎn 貶 "make derogatory remarks about") refers to a person with a certain authority passing a positive judgment on someone.

              4. Jiā 嘉 (ant. sǔn 損 "make belittling remarks about") refers to commending someone for a certain action or for past behaviour.

              5. Zàn 讚／贊 "eulogise" (ant. dǐ 詆 "speak ill of") refers to lyrical, typically exaggerated and overly enthusiastic praise.

              6. Sòng 頌 (ant. zhòu 咒 "make calumniatory remarks about") refers literally to the singing of someone's praises, but as in English, the praising thus described may actually be in ornate prose.

              7. Měi 美 and shàn 善 (all ant. wù 惡 "speak ill of") refer to the bringing out of positive, admirable or morally commendable aspects in something or someone through discourse.

              8. Yáng 揚 (ant. yì 抑 "do down") refers to the spreading of the good name of someone or something.

            • REDUCE

              1. The current general word for diminishing or lessening anything in any way is sǔn 損 (ant. yì 益 "increase, improve")..

              2. Kuī 虧 (ant. yíng 盈 "cause to become more plentiful") refers to impairing a typically abstract or at least subtle thing.

              3. Jiǎn 減 (ant. zēng 增 "increase") typically refers to a reduction in the intensitity or in the number of something.

              4. Shǎo 少 is used to refer to the reducing the number of things. See FEW

            • PROFIT

              1. The current general word for any kind of material or other profit or advantage is yì 益 (ant. sǔn 損 "loss").

              2. Lì 利 (1. ant. yì 義 "considerations of rectitude"(!!); 2. ant. hài 害 "damage and loss suffered") refers to material profit.

              3. Dé 得 (ant. shī 失 "lose") refers abstractly to what is achieved as a desired advantage.

              5. Rù 入 (ant. chū 出 "expense") is manifest material gain.

              6. Biàn 便 (ant. zǔ 阻 "hindrance and disadvantage") refers to a convenient adantage.

            • INCREASE

              1. The most current and most general word for increase, both abstract and concrete is yì 益 (ant. sǔn 損 "decrease"). See MORE which overlaps considerably with this group.

              2. Zī 滋 is an archaic but not uncommon word referring to an overall natural increase or growth in quantity of something, but the most current use of the word is adverbial in the sense "increasing naturally".

              3. Zé1ng 增 (ant. shǎo 少 "beocme less") typically refers to concrete or material increase of something.

              4. Jiā 加 (ant. jiǎn 減 "decrease by taking away") typically focusses on the action of adding something which brings about the increase.

            • DAMAGE

              1. By far the commonest general word for damage is hài 害 (ant. lì 利 "benefit").

              2. Shāng 傷 "impair" and sǔn 損 "reduce and impair" (all ant. yì 益 "strengthen") are weaker than hài 害 and definitely suggest the survival of what is impaired.

              3. Zéi 賊 is stronger than hài 害 and definitely suggests that the damage done is serious indeed - possibly fatal.

            • MORE

              1. The most current and general word expressing the idea of something becoming more rather than less is yì 益 (ant. sǔn 損 "less and less").

              2. Mí 彌 focusses a difference in degree or number rather than on a process of increase.

              3. Yù 愈 (NB: shǎo 少 does not function as an antonym "less and less".) typically refers to a continuous or continuing dynamic increase or process.

              4. Gèng 更 and the rarer words fù 復 and yòu 又 "even more" indicate that the increase is from a level that is already high.

              5. Jiā 加 typically refers to an increase not in the intensity of something, but in the quantity or number.

              6. Yóu 尤 "particularly" singles out an item as instantiating something with particular intensity, more than most other comparable things.

              NB: 愈 may precede non-comparative verbs. Thus yù qǐ 愈起 "tend even more to occur" GUAN 47 could not have yì qǐ 益起. HF 19 has yù wáng 愈亡 "will tend ever more to fail". 愈至 "tend even more to arrive".

            • HELP

              1. The most general current word for helping someone else to perform a task is probably zhù 助 (ant. zǔ 阻 "hinder") which can refer to support given to men or other creatures.

              2. Yuán 援 typically refers to spontaneous unsolicited and enthusiastic help.

              3. Zuǒ 佐, yòu 佑 (deriving their meaning from the position of aides near the ruler), and also fǔ 輔 refer to official assistance in a formal context.

              4. Fú 扶 is specifially help to those much in need of support.

              5. Yì 益 (ant. sǔn 損 "act to hinder someone's progress") refers to support for someone who is already fairly well equipped for the task he or she gets support for.

              6. Jiǎ 假 refers to - not necessarily overt - discreet support.

              7. Zī 資 refers primarily to providing material support, but the word came to have common wider, generalised applications.

              8. Jì 濟 refers to acute help for a current difficult task.

              9. Yòu 祐 is a very ancient word referring specifically to assistance afforded by supernatural forces.

            • ADD

              [ABSTRACT/CONCRETE]

              [GENERAL/SPECIFIC]

              1. The current general word for adding something onto something else, both abstractly and concretely, is jiā 加 (ant. sǔn 損 "detract from").

              [GENERAL]

              2. Fù 附 and refer to a concrete act of adding or fixing something onto something else.

              [CONCRETE]

              3. Fù 傅 (ant. jué 攫 "take away") is rare and seems to refer to the spatial fixing or adding of something to something else.

              [CONCRETE]

              Word relations
            • Ant: (REDUCE)增 / 曾/INCREASE Zēng 增 (ant. shǎo 少 "beocme less") typically refers to concrete or material increase of something.
            • Ant: (REDUCE)益/INCREASE The most current and most general word for increase, both abstract and concrete is yì 益 (ant. sǔn 損 "decrease"). See MORE which overlaps considerably with this group.
            • Ant: (REDUCE)益/ADD
            • Assoc: (REDUCE)減/REDUCE Jiǎn 減 (ant. zēng 增 "increase") typically refers to a reduction in the intensitity or in the number of something.