破相 (pò xiàng) — to be scarred or disfigured (on the face)

Definition

To be permanently scarred or disfigured on the face, usually from an injury. The result (lasting facial damage) rather than the act — distinguishes from the verb 受伤, which is the injury itself.

verb
to be scarred or disfigured (on the face)

Examples

  • 破相，。
    Tā chà diǎn pò xiàng le, hái hǎo zhǐ shì cā shāng.
    He nearly got his face scarred, but luckily it was just a scrape.
  • ，，。
    Tā de liǎn bèi bō li huá shāng, suī rán zhì hǎo le, dàn hái shì pò le xiāng.
    Her face was cut by glass; although it healed, she was still scarred.
  • ，破相。
    Diàn yǐng lǐ de huài rén yòng dāo huá shāng zhǔ jué, ràng tā pò xiàng le.
    The villain in the movie slashed the protagonist's face, scarring him.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

破pòbreak
相xiāngappearance

破 (break) applied to 相 (appearance) gives the sense of being scarred.

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 →

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

In 相, 目 is an eye and 木 is a tree, showing an eye looking at a tree; this originally meant “to observe.”

Open 相 →

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