消 means “put out, erase, vanish”

けす · kesu

Also: extinguish, blow out, turn off, neutralize

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)
きえる, けす
On'yomi (Chinese reading)
ショウ

JLPT N3 · Taught in grade 3 · 10 strokes

The story

Water (氵) poured on a flame until the last flicker is gone. 消す turns off the lights and rubs out mistakes, 消える is to vanish, and the red 消防車 races out to put fires out.

Used in 消える (kieru, to go out/vanish), 消しゴム (keshigomu, eraser), and 消費税 (shouhizei, consumption tax)

More from Hands at Work

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Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.