TongTong
Sign in

毁坏 (huǐ huài) — to damage, to destroy

Definition

毁坏 is 'to damage / to destroy' on a physical scale, with a sense of harm or ruin (often deliberate or by force). Stronger and more violent than 破坏, less total than 毁灭 ('annihilate') or 摧毁 ('wreck/demolish').

verb
to damageto destroy

Examples

  • 毁坏。
    Bào fēng yǔ huǐ huài le nóng tián.
    The storm damaged the farmland.
  • 毁坏。
    Tā gù yì huǐ huài bié rén de dōng xī.
    He deliberately damaged other people's belongings.
  • 毁坏。
    Cháng qī quē fá wéi hù huì huǐ huài jiàn zhù wù.
    Long-term lack of maintenance will destroy the building.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

毁huǐdamage
坏huàispoiled

毁 means to damage and 坏 means spoiled, giving the sense of damaging or spoiling something.

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 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 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 壞; 坏 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
褱
褱huái壞huài
Same sound today

For the traditional form 壞, 土 (earth) is the meaning part and 褱 supplies the sound; earth is used because something that rots eventually becomes earth. This is about 壞, not the simplified 坏.

Open 坏 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Safety & Danger

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.