扑灭 (pū miè) — to extinguish, to put out (a fire); to eradicat… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

扑灭 is to actively put out a fire or stamp out a problem with effort. 比灭 (go out on its own) more emphatic on human action; 比杜绝 narrower — 扑灭 targets something already happening.

verb

to extinguishto put out (a fire)to eradicateto stamp out (pests, rumors, etc.)

Examples

扑灭。
Xiāo fáng yuán hěn kuài pū miè le dà huǒ.
The firefighters quickly extinguished the big fire.
扑灭。
Nóng mín yòng xīn fāng fǎ pū miè hài chóng.
Farmers use new methods to eradicate pests.
扑灭。
Xué xiào jué dìng pū miè guān yú kǎo shì de yáo yán.
The school decided to stamp out rumors about the exam.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

扑pūstrike

灭mièextinguish

The 扑 strike brings about the 灭 extinguishing, giving the sense of putting out or eradicating.

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

手手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

卜

卜bǔ扑pū

Same sound today

扑 uses 手 (hand) for meaning and 卜 (bǔ) for sound.

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 滅; 灭 is its simplified writing.

氵烕滅

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

烕

烕miè滅miè

Same sound today

The traditional form 滅 pairs 氵 (water) with 烕 as a sound part to mean extinguish by water; the simplified 灭 is a later shorthand.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6 Safety & Danger

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