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坠毁 (zhuì huǐ) — to crash (of aircraft, etc.)

Definition

坠毁 means 'to crash' specifically of aircraft or spacecraft — falling from the sky and being destroyed. It implies a complete loss, unlike 摔落 (fall) or 降落 (land).

verb
to crash (of aircraft, etc.)

Examples

  • ，坠毁。
    Zhè cì shì gù zhōng, yí jià xiǎo fēi jī zhuì huǐ le.
    In this accident, a small plane crashed.
  • 坠毁。
    Zuó tiān shān shàng fā shēng le yì qǐ zhuì huǐ shì gù.
    Yesterday a crash accident occurred in the mountain.
  • 坠毁。
    Yì kē wèi xīng zhuì huǐ zài shā mò zhōng.
    A satellite crashed in the desert.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

坠zhuìfall
毁huǐwreck

坠 means fall and 毁 means wreck, together to fall until wrecked.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
队
队duì坠zhuì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

坠 combines 土, an earth-related part, with 队, which gives the sound.

Open 坠 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 毀; 毁 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 毀 combines 臼 (cracked skull), 工 (tool), and 殳 (hand action) as a man being hit in the head; this explanation is about 毀, not the simplified 毁.

Open 毁 →
Appears in
Air TravelSafety & Danger

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