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裂开 (liè kāi) — to split open, to crack open

Definition

A vivid verb meaning 'to split / crack open', used for physical surfaces and (often with 都…了) for emotional states like laughing till you split. As a resultative verb, it describes a change of state — something was whole, now it isn't.

verb
to split opento crack open

Examples

  • 裂开。
    Dì miàn liè kāi le.
    The ground split open.
  • 裂开。
    Bēi zi liè kāi le yì tiáo fèng.
    The cup cracked open a crack.
  • 裂开。
    Tā xiào dé dù zi dōu liè kāi le.
    He laughed so hard his stomach practically split open.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

裂lièsplit
开kāiopen

裂 means to split and 开 means open; together they describe something splitting open.

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
衣衣yīclothes
Sound part声符shēngfú
列
列liè裂liè
Same sound today

裂 combines 衣 (clothes) with 列 for the sound. The picture of 列 shows bones cut by a blade and lined up, and the whole writes the idea of cutting and tearing clothes.

Open 裂 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 開; 开 is its simplified writing.

  • 門門méndoor
  • 一一yīlatch and/or wooden pole that shuts a door
  • 廾廾gǒnga pair of hands

The traditional form 開 shows 廾, a pair of hands, and 一, a latch or pole, inside 門, a door: hands opening a latched door. The simplified 开 is a shorthand form, so its parts are not the original pieces.

Open 开 →
Appears in
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