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破除 (pò chú) — to eliminate, to do away with, to get rid of (abstract things like superstition, old ideas, obstacles)

Definition

破除 means to break down and discard (superstition, old ideas, habits, obstacles). 侧重打破/摧毁; 废除 is for formally abolishing laws/rules; 消除 is for removing something present.

verb
to eliminateto do away withto get rid of (abstract things like superstition, old ideas, obstacles)

Examples

  • 破除。
    Wǒ men yào pò chú fēng jiàn sī xiǎng.
    We must eliminate feudal thinking.
  • 破除，。
    Zhǐ yǒu pò chú jiù xí guàn, cái néng yíng jiē xīn shēng huó.
    Only by getting rid of old habits can we embrace a new life.
  • 破除，。
    Tā jué xīn pò chú yí qiè kùn nan, jì xù qián jìn.
    He is determined to eliminate all difficulties and keep moving forward.

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pòbreak
除chúremove

The sense of 破, breaking, is joined with 除, removing, to mean eliminate.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
石石shí
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.

Open 破 →

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
阜阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
余
余yú除chú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

除 is built from 阜 and 余, with 余 giving the sound.

Open 除 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Change & Process

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