灭 (miè): to extinguish or put out, to go out (of a fire etc), to exterminate or wipe out
灭 (miè) is a Chinese character meaning “to extinguish or put out.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 一 (structural) and 火 (structural). It ranks #953 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 灭 to cover 一 a flame 火. Its radical form 火 (fire) appears in many related characters such as 火 (huǒ, fire), 灯 (dēng, lamp, light), 烟 (yān, smoke).
Definitions
- to extinguish or put out
- to go out (of a fire etc)
- to exterminate or wipe out
Etymology & Origin
ideographicTo cover 一 a flame 火
Decomposition: ⿱一火 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 灭 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 灭
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 毁灭 | huǐ miè | to perish |
| 灭绝 | miè jué | to become extinct |
| 灭亡 | miè wáng | to be destroyed |
| 熄灭 | xī miè | to stop burning |
| 破灭 | pò miè | to be shattered |
| 灭火 | miè huǒ | to extinguish a fire |
| 灭口 | miè kǒu | to kill sb to prevent them from divulging a secret |
| 毁灭性 | huǐ miè xìng | destructive |
| 自生自灭 | zì shēng zì miè | to emerge and perish on its own |
| 灭火器 | miè huǒ qì | fire extinguisher |
| 歼灭 | jiān miè | to wipe out |
| 灰飞烟灭 | huī fēi yān miè | lit. scattered ashes and dispersed smoke (idiom) |
| 湮灭 | yān miè | to sink into oblivion |
| 覆灭 | fù miè | destruction |
| 灭顶之灾 | miè dǐng zhī zāi | (idiom) catastrophic disaster |
灭 appears in 75 compound words: 32 as the first character, 48 as the last, and 20 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 灭 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (12)
to place righteousness before family; to be ready to punish one's own family if justice demands it
lit. to restore the state and revive old families (idiom); fig. to restore sth that has been destroyed or forgotten
to (let something) emerge and perish on its own; to let something go its own way
to place righteousness before family; to be ready to punish one's own family if justice demands it
lit. to restore the state and revive old families (idiom); fig. to restore sth that has been destroyed or forgotten
to (let something) emerge and perish on its own; to let something go its own way
Example Sentences
消防员迅速赶到，扑灭了熊熊大灭。
xiāo fáng yuán xùn sù gǎn dào , pū miè le xióng xióng dà miè .
Firefighters arrived quickly and extinguished the raging blaze.
...勃不起是什么原因引起的呢?肝硬化影响激素灭活和代谢吗
. . . bó bù qǐ shì shén má yuán yīn yǐn qǐ de ne ? gān yìng huà yǐng xiǎng jī sù miè huó hé dài xiè ma
... What causes an erection? Does cirrhosis affect hormone inactivation and metabolism?
...色列发动空袭 伊朗官员:德黑兰正筹备“毁灭性”报复—不断更新
. . . sè liè fā dòng kōng xí yī lǎng guān yuán : dé hēi lán zhèng chóu bèi huǐ miè xìng bào fù — bù duàn gēng xīn
... Serek launches airstrikes Iranian officials: Tehran is preparing for "devastating" retaliation - constantly updated
前妻怒控婚内出轨!男星离婚8年遭毁灭踢爆“弃儿拒付赡养费”恶行
qián qī nù kòng hūn nèi chū guǐ ! nán xīng lí hūn 8 nián zāo huǐ miè tī bào qì ér jù fù shàn yǎng fèi è háng
The ex-wife angrily accused marital cheating! The male star was divorced for 8 years and was destroyed, kicking out the evil deeds of "abandoned children refusing to pay alimony"
...炼场》粗俗发言开殉职案玩笑?全炫茂挨轰急灭火
. . . liàn chǎng cū sú fā yán kāi 殉 zhí àn wán xiào ? quán xuàn mào āi hōng jí miè huǒ
... "Refinement Field" vulgar speech joke about the death of the line of duty? Quan Xuanmao was bombarded and quickly extinguished the fire
斗湖1小时豪雨引发大水患 轿车险灭顶多路中断
dǒu hú 1 xiǎo shí háo yǔ yǐn fā dà shuǐ huàn jiào chē xiǎn miè dǐng duō lù zhōng duàn
Tawau 1-hour heavy rain caused heavy flooding, and the car was almost destroyed, and many roads were interrupted
什么样的人会将种族灭绝者，称之为“英雄”？
Shénmeyàng de rén huì jiāng zhǒngzúmièjué zhě, chēngzhīwéi "yīngxióng "?
What kind of person looks up to a genocidal killer and calls him a hero?
要即时扑灭那火灾并不容易。
Yào jíshí pūmiè nà huǒzāi bìngbù róngyì.
It was not easy to put out the fire at once.
消防队员把火扑灭了。
Xiāofángduìyuán bǎ huǒ pūmiè le.
The fire fighters put out the fire.
蜡烛出去，而不必被扑灭。
Làzhú chūqù, ér bù bì bèi pūmiè.
The candle went out instead of having been put out.
Character Family
Homophones — Characters pronounced miè
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 灭 (miè) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 灭 and 来?
How many strokes does 灭 have?
What is the radical of 灭?
What are the components of 灭?
What are common words containing 灭?
What characters sound the same as 灭 (miè)?
Is 灭 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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