糟踏 (zāo tà) — to waste (resources, food); to spoil, to ruin;…

Definition

Spelled 糟蹋 in standard usage; 糟踏 is a variant form. Both mean to waste, spoil, or treat badly (people, things, or original works).

verb

to waste (resources, food)to spoilto ruinto treat badlyto abuse

Easily confused

糟踏，。
Bié zāo tà liáng shi, měi yí lì mǐ dōu lái zhī bú yì.
Don't waste food; every grain of rice is hard-earned.
，糟踏。
Tā hē duō le, bǎ fáng jiān zāo tà dé luàn qī bā zāo.
He drank too much and trashed the room.
，糟踏著。
Zhè bù diàn yǐng bèi fān pāi dé hěn chà, wán quán zāo tà le yuán zhù.
This movie was remade poorly and completely ruined the original work.

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.

踏tàtrample

糟 and 踏 combine to mean trampling and spoiling something.

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.

米曹糟

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

曹

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

糟 pairs 米 (rice) with 曹, which gives its sound; the rice side points to liquor made from fermented rice, originally meaning unfiltered.

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

足足zúfoot

Sound part声符shēngfú

沓

Same sound today

踏 has 足 (foot) as its left part to show a foot-related meaning, and 沓 as its right part to give the sound.