破烂 (pò làn) — tattered, ragged, worn-out (used before nouns) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Describes things physically broken down and falling apart (clothes, furniture, buildings). Focuses on the worn, ragged condition itself, not on being discarded like 垃圾.

adjective

tatteredraggedworn-out (used before nouns)

Examples

破烂。
Tā chuān zhuó yí jiàn pò làn de chèn shān.
He is wearing a tattered shirt.
破烂。
Zhè xiē pò làn de jiā jù gāi rēng le.
These worn-out pieces of furniture should be thrown away.
破烂。
Nà jiān pò làn de fáng zi méi rén zhù.
That dilapidated house is uninhabited.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

破pòbroken

破 'broken' and 烂 'rotten' together describe worn-out junk.

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.

石皮破

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

皮

皮pí破pò

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

破 has 石 (stone) as its meaning part and 皮 as its sound part.

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 爛; 烂 is its simplified writing.

火闌爛

Meaning part形符xíngfú

火火huǒfire

Sound part声符shēngfú

闌

闌lán爛làn

Same sound today

The form 爛 pairs 火 (fire) with 闌 as the sound part; this explains 爛, not the simplified 烂.

Appears in

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