消 — “to turn off / to disappear” in Japanese

Grade 3しょう, き, け

Radical ⽔ · radical 85 The building block this kanji is filed under

“to turn off / to disappear” in Japanese is 消, read shou, ki, ke (しょう, き, け). It is a Grade 3 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 3 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 消える (to disappear).

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What does 消 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	消
Meaning	to turn off / to disappear
Readings	しょう, き, け
Grade	Grade 3 (Medium)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	消える (to disappear)

How to read 消

消 is read shou (しょう) or ki (き) or ke (け) depending on the word.

Words with 消

消灯しょうとう
消耗
消えるto turn off / to disappear
消費税

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Kanji read the same way as 消

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Updated: 2026-08-28