破门而入 (pò mén ér rù) — to force one's way into a house or building by…

Definition

Literally 'break the door and enter' — used for forcing entry, often by police, firefighters, or intruders. The 而 emphasizes the sequence of actions.

idiom

to force one's way into a house or building by breaking the door

破门而入。
Xiǎo tōu zuó wǎn pò mén ér rù tōu zǒu le hěn duō zhí qián de dōng xī.
The thief broke into the house last night and stole many valuable things.
破门而入，。
Jǐng chá pò mén ér rù, xùn sù kòng zhì le xiàn chǎng.
The police broke in and quickly took control of the scene.
破门而入。
Xiāo fáng yuán pò mén ér rù jiù chū le bèi kùn de hái zi.
The firefighters broke through the door and rescued the trapped child.

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

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.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 門; 门 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 門 pictures a gate as two door shapes side by side; the simplified 门 is a later shorthand.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 而 is a picture of a beard.

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

入 is drawn as an arrowhead, indicating 'to enter'.

Appears in