拆除 (chāi chú) — to demolish, tear down, dismantle, remove (a st…

Definition

拆除 is for tearing down fixed structures (buildings, signs, facilities), more formal and complete than 拆, which can also mean opening packages or taking apart machines.

verb

to demolishtear downdismantleremove (a structure or installation)

Examples

拆除。
Tā men jué dìng chāi chú zhè zuò jiù gōng chǎng.
They decided to demolish this old factory.
拆除。
Gōng rén men zhèng zài chāi chú lù biān de guǎng gào pái.
The workers are removing the roadside billboard.
拆除。
Qǐng bǎ zhè xiē lín shí shè shī quán bù chāi chú.
Please dismantle all these temporary facilities.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

拆chāitear down

除chúremove

拆 means tear down and 除 means remove; together they mean to take a structure away.

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

手手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

斥

斥chì拆chāi

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

拆 uses 手 to show an action done by hand, with 斥 giving the sound. In an earlier related form, the hand part replaced an earth part to stress the action by hand.

Open 拆 →

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

阜阜fù

Sound part声符shēngfú

余

余yú除chú

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

除 is built from 阜 and 余, with 余 giving the sound.

Open 除 →

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6 Change & Process