捣碎 (dǎo suì) — to crush, to pound to pieces

Definition

verb

to crushto pound to pieces

捣碎。
Tā bǎ dà suàn dǎo suì le fàng jìn cài lǐ.
He crushed the garlic and put it into the dish.
捣碎。
Yòng shí jiù bǎ yào cái dǎo suì.
Use a mortar to pound the medicinal herbs to pieces.
，捣碎。
Zhè xiē hé tao tài yìng le, bù róng yì dǎo suì.
These walnuts are too hard to crush easily.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

捣 means to pound and 碎 means broken; pounding makes something break into pieces.

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 搗; 捣 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

島

島dǎo搗dǎo

Same sound today

The traditional form 搗 pairs 手 (hand) with 島 as a sound part; the simplified 捣 is a shorthand, so its right side is not the original sound part.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

石卒碎

Meaning part形符xíngfú

石石shístone

Sound part声符shēngfú

卒

卒zú碎suì

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

碎 pairs 石 (stone) with 卒, which gives the sound; the stone part is tied to the sense of breaking or smashing.