开裂 (kāi liè) — to crack, to fracture

Definition

verb
to crackto fracture

Examples

  • 开裂。
    Qiáng miàn chū xiàn le kāi liè.
    Cracks appeared on the wall.
  • ，开裂。
    Yóu yú gān hàn, tǔ dì kāi liè le.
    The ground cracked due to the drought.
  • 开裂，。
    Zhè ge bēi zi kāi liè le, bù néng yòng le.
    This cup is cracked and can't be used anymore.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

开kāisplit
裂liècrack

开 and 裂 both mean split or crack, so together they describe something fracturing.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 開; 开 is its simplified writing.

  • 門門méndoor
  • 一一yīlatch and/or wooden pole that shuts a door
  • 廾廾gǒnga pair of hands

The traditional form 開 shows 廾, a pair of hands, and 一, a latch or pole, inside 門, a door: hands opening a latched door. The simplified 开 is a shorthand form, so its parts are not the original pieces.

Open 开 →

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
衣衣yīclothes
Sound part声符shēngfú
列
列liè裂liè
Same sound today

裂 combines 衣 (clothes) with 列 for the sound. The picture of 列 shows bones cut by a blade and lined up, and the whole writes the idea of cutting and tearing clothes.

Open 裂 →

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