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撕裂 (sī liè) — to tear, to rip, to rend

Definition

A strong, vivid verb meaning 'to tear / rend' — physical objects, body tissue, or metaphorically, relationships and bonds. Far more forceful and literary than 撕 ('to tear' in everyday use).

verb
to tearto ripto rend

Examples

  • 撕裂。
    Kuáng fēng bǎ chuán fān sī liè chéng le liǎng bàn.
    The gale tore the sail into two halves.
  • 撕裂。
    Zhè chǎng zhàn zhēng sī liè le wú shù jiā tíng.
    This war tore apart countless families.
  • 撕裂。
    Tā pǎo bù shí dà tuǐ jī ròu sī liè le.
    He tore a thigh muscle while running.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

撕sītear
裂lièsplit

撕 is the tearing action, and 裂 gives the result of splitting, so together they mean to tear apart.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 撕 →

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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