吃 chī / jí — eat; eradicate; destroy; receive; eat; stammer
我喜欢吃妈妈做的菜。Wǒ xǐ huan chī mā ma zuò de cài.I like to eat the food my mom makes.
Common words: 吃饭 (chī fàn)、好吃 (hǎo chī)、吃惊 (chī jīng)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "destroy"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "destroy", including 吃 (chī / jí), 残 (cán), 摧 (cuī). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "destroy" covers 3 different Chinese characters — 吃 (chī / jí), 残 (cán), 摧 (cuī) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 3 characters do not share a sound — their readings span chī, jí, cán, cuī — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 吃 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 吃 chī / jíeat; eradicate; destroy; receive; eat; stammerUseful words: 吃饭, 好吃
- 残 cándestroy; spoil; ruin; injure; cruel; oppressiveUseful words: 残疾, 残酷
- 摧 cuībreak; destroy; devastate; ravage; repressUseful words: 摧残, 摧毁
Common words for these 3 "destroy" characters
Anchor each of these 3 characters in a word you can picture — start with 吃 (chī / jí) — so "destroy" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
吃饭chī fànto have a meal; to eat; to make a living好吃hǎo chītasty; delicious吃惊chī jīngto be startled; to be shocked; to be amazed残疾cán jídisabled; handicapped; deformity on a person or animal残酷cán kùcruel; harsh; merciless残忍cán rěncruel; merciless; ruthless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 "destroy".
残 cán — destroy; spoil; ruin; injure; cruel; oppressive
这本旧书已经残缺不全了。Zhè běn jiù shū yǐ jīng cán quē bù quán le.This old book is already incomplete.
Common words: 残疾 (cán jí)、残酷 (cán kù)、残忍 (cán rěn)
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 吃、残、摧 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.