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冲破 (chōng pò) — to break through; to breach

Definition

A vivid verb meaning to break through a barrier — physical (a defense line) or figurative (old ideas, difficulties). Stronger than 突破, which also covers breakthroughs in research or records.

verb
to break throughto breach

Examples

  • 冲破。
    Tā men zhōng yú chōng pò le dí rén de fáng xiàn.
    They finally broke through the enemy's defense line.
  • ，。
    Wǒ men yào chōng pò jiù guān niàn, jiē shòu xīn sī xiǎng.
    We need to break through old ideas and accept new thinking.
  • 冲破，。
    Tā chōng pò chóng chóng kùn nan, zhōng yú chéng gōng le.
    She broke through numerous difficulties and finally succeeded.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

冲chōngrush
破pòbreak

The 冲 idea of rushing and the 破 idea of breaking together mean to force through.

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
行行xíng
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.

Open 冲 →

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shí
Sound part声符shēngfú
皮
皮pí破pò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

破 has 石 (stone) as its meaning part and 皮 as its sound part.

Open 破 →
Appears in
Change & Process

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