支离破碎 (zhī lí pò suì) — fragmented, broken up, completely disintegrated
Definition
A vivid four-character idiom meaning broken into fragments and scattered — emphasizes both shattering and disarray, stronger than plain 碎. Often used for abstract things like plans, structures, or arguments (not just physical objects).
idiom
fragmentedbroken upcompletely disintegrated
Examples
- ，支离破碎。Nà jiā gōng sī nèi bù guǎn lǐ hùn luàn, zǎo jiù zhī lí pò suì le.That company's internal management was chaotic — it had long fallen apart.
- 支离破碎，。Zhè zhāng jiù bào zhǐ yǐ jīng zhī lí pò suì, zì dōu kàn bù qīng le.This old newspaper has already disintegrated, and the characters are unreadable.
- ，支离破碎。Tā de lùn wén luó ji bù tōng, jié gòu zhī lí pò suì.His paper lacks logical coherence and its structure is fragmented.
Appears in
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