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识破 (shí pò) — to see through, to penetrate (a disguise, scheme, lie, etc.)

Definition

识破 means to penetrate a disguise, lie, or scheme — to recognize what is hidden as false or deceptive. It is a stronger, more literary verb than everyday 看穿, and pairs naturally with nouns like 谎言, 把戏, or 真相.

verb
to see throughto penetrate (a disguise, scheme, lie, etc.)

Examples

  • 识破。
    Tā yì yǎn jiù shí pò le wǒ de huǎng yán.
    He saw through my lie at a glance.
  • 识破。
    Jǐng chá hěn kuài shí pò le piàn zi de bǎ xì.
    The police quickly saw through the swindler's trick.
  • ，识破。
    Tā cōng ming jī zhì, zǒng néng shí pò bié rén de xīn si.
    She is smart and quick-witted, always able to see through others' thoughts.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

识shírecognize
破pòbreak through

识 means recognize, and 破 adds the result of breaking through to the truth.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 識; 识 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánsay
Sound part声符shēngfú
戠
戠zhí識zhì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 識 pairs 言 (say) with 戠 as a sound part; the simplified 识 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical parts.

Open 识 →

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 →
Appears in
Thinking & Cognition

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