# 削 — Whittle Down

Frequency rank 1190 / 2,608 in published Japanese.

Rarer in this ranking, but still part of the 2,608-character published set.

More common than 即 (Instant), less common than 看 (Watch Over).

- On’yomi: さく
- Kun’yomi: けず
- Radical: 刀 Knife (Kangxi 18)
- Frequency path: Level X of XX

A sword on the right shaves the moon on the left — the sword whittles down the full moon into a crescent, slicing it thinner and thinner.

In words:

- 削る けずる — to cut down little by little,to take a percentage
- 削除 さくじょ — elimination,cancellation,deletion,erasure
- 削減 さくげん — cut;reduction;curtailment

[Study 削](https://app.kanjidrift.com/study?kanji=%E5%89%8A)

[← Rank 1189: 看 (Watch Over)](https://kanjidrift.com/frequency/看.md) · [Rank 1191: 即 (Instant) →](https://kanjidrift.com/frequency/即.md)

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