to eliminate; to remove
消 (xiāo) · 10 strokes
Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 肖 represents the sound.
除 (chú) · 9 strokes
Phonosemantic compound. 阝 represents the meaning and 余 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "stair steps". The meaning later shifted to "divide", "remove", and "except".