碎块 (suì kuài) — fragment, splinter, shard

Definition

noun
fragmentsplintershard
Measure word · 块

Examples

  • ，碎块。
    Huā píng suì le, dì shàng yǒu táo cí suì kuài.
    The vase broke; there are ceramic fragments on the floor.
  • 碎块。
    Kǎo gǔ xué jiā zài yí zhǐ zhōng zhǎo dào le táo qì de suì kuài.
    The archaeologists found pottery fragments at the site.
  • ，碎块。
    Zhà dàn bào zhà hòu, dì miàn shàng sàn luò zhe jīn shǔ suì kuài.
    After the bomb exploded, metal fragments were scattered on the ground.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

碎suìbroken
块kuàipiece

碎 broken and 块 piece together name a fragment or shard.

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shístone
Sound part声符shēngfú
卒
卒zú碎suì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

碎 pairs 石 (stone) with 卒, which gives the sound; the stone part is tied to the sense of breaking or smashing.

Open 碎 →

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 塊; 块 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔearth; dust
Sound part声符shēngfú
鬼
鬼guǐ塊kuài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 塊 pairs 土 (earth; dust) with 鬼 as a sound part to show a clod of dirt. The simplified 块 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 块 →

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