TongTong
Sign in

伤残 (shāng cán) — to disable (a person), to cause disability; to damage (objects), to break

Definition

伤残 (shāngcán) covers both causing disability in people and physical damage to objects — broader than 残疾 (noun: a disability itself) and heavier than 破 (everyday 'broken').

verb
to disable (a person)to cause disabilityto damage (objects)to break

Examples

  • 伤残。
    Nà cì chē huò shāng cán le tā de shuāng tuǐ.
    That car accident disabled his legs.
  • 。
    Zhè xiē yí qì zài bān yùn guò chéng zhōng shāng cán le.
    These instruments were damaged during transport.
  • 伤残。
    Dì zhèn shāng cán le xǔ duō jiā tíng.
    The earthquake disabled many families.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

伤shāngwound
残cándisabled

伤 (wound) and 残 (disabled) combine to mean injury causing disability.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 傷; 伤 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
人人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
𥏻
𥏻𥏻傷shāng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 傷 shows 人, a person, and uses 𥏻 to give the sound; the simplified 伤 is a later shorthand.

Open 伤 →

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 殘; 残 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
歹歹dǎivicious, bones
Sound part声符shēngfú
戔
戔jiān殘cán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 殘 pairs 歹, a bone shape for injury, with 戔 for its sound; the simplified 残 is a later shorthand.

Open 残 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Injury & Disability

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.