冲垮 (chōng kuǎ) — to burst and cause to collapse; to overwhelm an… | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A vivid verb for water or force breaking through and destroying something (a dam, wall, defense). Combines 冲 ('rush, charge') with 垮 ('collapse') to picture a sudden structural failure under impact.

verb

to burst and cause to collapseto overwhelm and shatter

Examples

冲垮。
Hóng shuǐ chè dǐ chōng kuǎ le dī bà.
The flood completely burst the dam.
冲垮。
Dí rén fáng xiàn bèi wǒ men yì jǔ chōng kuǎ.
The enemy's defense line was overwhelmed by us in one fell swoop.
冲垮。
Jù dà de chōng jī lì bǎ qiáng bì chōng kuǎ le.
The huge impact force shattered the wall.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

垮kuǎcollapse

冲 and 垮 express being overwhelmed until something breaks down.

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 衝; 冲 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 冲 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (冲, 冲动) it is 衝; in others (冲) it is 沖.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

重

重zhòng衝chōng

Same sound today

The traditional form 衝 shows 重 inside 行, with 行 as the meaning part and 重 as the sound part; the simplified 冲 is a later shorthand.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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