碾碎 (niǎn suì) — to pulverize, to crush into pieces

Definition

Literally 'grind-crush': a two-character verb meaning to crush or grind something into powder or tiny pieces — stronger than 压碎 (just crush) and more deliberate than 捣碎 (pound/mash).

verb
to pulverizeto crush into pieces

Examples

  • 碾碎。
    Tā bǎ dà suàn niǎn suì le.
    He crushed the garlic.
  • 碾碎。
    Zhè tái jī qì kě yǐ bǎ shí tou niǎn suì.
    This machine can crush stones.
  • 碾碎。
    Bǐng gān bèi niǎn suì chéng le fěn mò.
    The cookies were crushed into powder.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

碾niǎncrush
碎suìbroken

碾 gives crush and 碎 adds broken, so the word means to crush something into pieces.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 碾 →

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 →

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