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支离破碎 (zhī lí pò suì) — fragmented, broken up, completely disintegrated

Definition

A vivid four-character idiom meaning broken into fragments and scattered — emphasizes both shattering and disarray, stronger than plain 碎. Often used for abstract things like plans, structures, or arguments (not just physical objects).

idiom
fragmentedbroken upcompletely disintegrated

Examples

  • ，支离破碎。
    Nà jiā gōng sī nèi bù guǎn lǐ hùn luàn, zǎo jiù zhī lí pò suì le.
    That company's internal management was chaotic — it had long fallen apart.
  • 支离破碎，。
    Zhè zhāng jiù bào zhǐ yǐ jīng zhī lí pò suì, zì dōu kàn bù qīng le.
    This old newspaper has already disintegrated, and the characters are unreadable.
  • ，支离破碎。
    Tā de lùn wén luó ji bù tōng, jié gòu zhī lí pò suì.
    His paper lacks logical coherence and its structure is fragmented.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

支离scattered apart
支zhīscattered离líseparate
联合Coordinate
破碎broken apart
破pòbroken碎suìfragmented
联合Coordinate

支离 and 破碎 both describe a scattered, broken-up state, so the image is of something fragmented.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

支 pairs 又 (hand) with 十, a shortened form of 竹 (bamboo), to picture a bamboo branch.

Open 支 →

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 離; 离 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
隹隹zhuībird
Sound part声符shēngfú
离
离lí離lí
Same sound today

The traditional form 離 pairs 隹, a bird, with the sound part 离; the simplified 离 is a shorthand. This form first wrote a black-naped oriole, and the sound was borrowed for 'leave'.

Open 离 →

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 →

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.

Open 碎 →
Appears in
Abstract ConceptsIdioms & Set Phrases

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