损 sǔn — to damage; injure; to lose; to harm
大风损坏了不少树木。Dà fēng sǔn huài le bù shǎo shù mù.The strong wind damaged many trees.
Common words: 损失 (sǔn shī)、损害 (sǔn hài)、损伤 (sǔn shāng)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to damage"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to damage", including 损 (sǔn), 毁 (huǐ). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to damage" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 损 (sǔn), 毁 (huǐ) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span sǔn, huǐ — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 损 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 损 sǔnto damage; injure; to lose; to harmUseful words: 损失, 损害
- 毁 huǐto destroy; to damage; to ruin; blaze; destroy by fire; defameUseful words: 毁灭, 销毁
Common words for these 2 "to damage" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 损 (sǔn) — so "to damage" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
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 2 ways to say "to damage".
毁 huǐ — to destroy; to damage; to ruin; blaze; destroy by fire; defame
一场大火毁掉了整片树林。Yì chǎng dà huǒ huǐ diào le zhěng piàn shù lín.A big fire destroyed the entire forest.
Common words: 毁灭 (huǐ miè)、销毁 (xiāo huǐ)、摧毁 (cuī huǐ)
All 2 characters
Open 损、毁 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.