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破灭 (pò miè) — to be shattered, to be annihilated (of hopes, illusions, dreams, etc.)

Definition

破灭 is used for intangible things (hopes, dreams, illusions) being shattered, not physical objects. Compared with 破碎, 粉碎, 毁灭, 灭亡, it stays in the abstract — psychological or emotional collapse, not physical destruction.

verb
to be shatteredto be annihilated (of hopes, illusions, dreams, etc.)

Examples

  • 破灭。
    Tā de xī wàng chè dǐ pò miè le.
    His hopes were completely shattered.
  • ，破灭。
    Jīng guò zhè cì shī bài, tā de huàn xiǎng wán quán pò miè.
    After this failure, his illusions were completely shattered.
  • 破灭。
    Zhàn zhēng ràng wú shù jiā tíng de mèng xiǎng pò miè.
    The war shattered countless families' dreams.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

破pòbreak
灭mièextinguish

The sense of 破, breaking, is joined with 灭, being extinguished, to describe hopes shattering.

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
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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 滅; 灭 is its simplified writing.

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.

Open 灭 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Abstract Concepts

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.