打 dá / dǎ — dozen; beat; strike; break; mix up; build
孩子们在院子里打篮球。Hái zi men zài yuàn zi lǐ dǎ lán qiú.The children are playing basketball in the yard.
Common words: 打开 (dǎ kāi)、打电话 (dǎ diàn huà)、打球 (dǎ qiú)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "break"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "break", including 打 (dá / dǎ), 断 (duàn), 摧 (cuī). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "break" covers 3 different Chinese characters — 打 (dá / dǎ), 断 (duàn), 摧 (cuī) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 3 characters do not share a sound — their readings span dá, dǎ, duàn, cuī — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 打 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 打 dá / dǎdozen; beat; strike; break; mix up; buildUseful words: 打开, 打电话
- 断 duànabsolutely; decidedly (in negative constructions); break; to judgeUseful words: 不断, 判断
- 摧 cuībreak; destroy; devastate; ravage; repressUseful words: 摧残, 摧毁
Common words for these 3 "break" characters
Anchor each of these 3 characters in a word you can picture — start with 打 (dá / dǎ) — so "break" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
打开dǎ kāito open; to show (a ticket); to turn on; to switch on打电话dǎ diàn huàto make a telephone call打球dǎ qiúto play ball; to play with a ball不断bù duànunceasing; uninterrupted; continuous; constant判断pàn duànto judge; to determine; judgment诊断zhěn duànto diagnose摧残cuī cánto ravage; to ruin摧毁cuī huǐto destroy; to wreck悲摧bēi cuīgrieved; miserable
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 3 ways to say "break".
断 duàn — absolutely; decidedly (in negative constructions); break; to judge
绳子被拉断了。Shéng zi bèi lā duàn le.The rope was pulled apart.
Common words: 不断 (bù duàn)、判断 (pàn duàn)、诊断 (zhěn duàn)
摧 cuī — break; destroy; devastate; ravage; repress
一场大风把许多树木摧毁了。Yì chǎng dà fēng bǎ xǔ duō shù mù cuī huǐ le.A strong wind destroyed many trees.
Common words: 摧残 (cuī cán)、摧毁 (cuī huǐ)、悲摧 (bēi cuī)
All 3 characters
Open 打、断、摧 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.