毁坏 (huǐ huài) — to damage, to destroy

Definition

毁坏 is 'to damage / to destroy' on a physical scale, with a sense of harm or ruin (often deliberate or by force). Stronger and more violent than 破坏, less total than 毁灭 ('annihilate') or 摧毁 ('wreck/demolish').

verb
to damageto destroy

Examples

  • 毁坏。
    Bào fēng yǔ huǐ huài le nóng tián.
    The storm damaged the farmland.
  • 毁坏。
    Tā gù yì huǐ huài bié rén de dōng xī.
    He deliberately damaged other people's belongings.
  • 毁坏。
    Cháng qī quē fá wéi hù huì huǐ huài jiàn zhù wù.
    Long-term lack of maintenance will destroy the building.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

毁huǐdamage
坏huàispoiled

毁 means to damage and 坏 means spoiled, giving the sense of damaging or spoiling something.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 毀; 毁 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 毀 combines 臼 (cracked skull), 工 (tool), and 殳 (hand action) as a man being hit in the head; this explanation is about 毀, not the simplified 毁.

Open 毁 →

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 壞; 坏 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
褱
褱huái壞huài
Same sound today

For the traditional form 壞, 土 (earth) is the meaning part and 褱 supplies the sound; earth is used because something that rots eventually becomes earth. This is about 壞, not the simplified 坏.

Open 坏 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Safety & Danger

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