断 (duàn): to break, to snap, to cut off
断 (duàn) is a Chinese character meaning “to break.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), with radical 斤 (axe). It ranks #434 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 断 using an axe 斤 to harvest grain 米. Its radical form 斤 (axe) appears in many related characters such as 新 (xīn, abbr. for Xinjiang 新疆[Xin1 jiang1]), 斤 (jīn, catty), 斥 (chì, to blame).
Definitions
- to break
- to snap
- to cut off
Etymology & Origin
ideographicUsing an axe 斤 to harvest grain 米
Stroke Order
Practice writing 断 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 断
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 不断verb/adverb | bù duàn | unceasing | 4 |
| 打断verb | dǎ duàn | to interrupt | 5 |
| 判断verb | pàn duàn | to judge | 4 |
| 诊断verb | zhěn duàn | to diagnose | 5 |
| 中断verb | zhōng duàn | to cut short | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 切断 | qiē duàn | to cut off |
| 推断 | tuī duàn | to infer |
| 断绝 | duàn jué | to sever |
| 折断 | zhé duàn | to snap sth off |
| 割断 | gē duàn | to cut off |
| 了断 | liǎo duàn | to bring to a conclusion |
| 断定 | duàn dìng | to conclude |
| 断层 | duàn céng | fault (geology) () |
| 片断 | piàn duàn | section |
| 断裂 | duàn liè | fracture |
| 间断 | jiàn duàn | disconnected |
| 断电 | duàn diàn | to experience a power outage |
| 阻断 | zǔ duàn | to block |
| 果断 | guǒ duàn | firm |
| 决断 | jué duàn | to make a decision |
断 appears in 100 compound words: 52 as the first character, 46 as the last, and 2 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 断 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (23)
(sciences) tomography; short for 電子計算機斷層掃描／电子计算机断层扫描 (“computed tomography (CT)”)
intermittent; off and on; discontinuous; stop-go; stammering; disjointed; inarticulate
to rip one's robe as a sign of repudiating a sworn brotherhood (idiom); to break all friendly ties
to rip one's robe as a sign of repudiating a sworn brotherhood (idiom); to break all friendly ties
Showing 12 of 23 idioms containing 断.
Example Sentences
绳子突然断了，箱子掉在地上摔坏了。
Shéngzi tūrán duàn le, xiāngzi diào zài dì shang shuāi huài le.
The rope suddenly broke, and the box fell to the ground and broke.
冬奥冰球观点/美国队如何断加拿大连霸梦?三个维度解读史诗对决
dōng ào bīng qiú guàn diǎn měi guó duì rú hé duàn jiā ná dà lián bà mèng ? sān gè wéi dù jiě dòu shǐ shī duì jué
Winter Olympics ice hockey views/How does the U.S. team break Canada's dream of winning back-to-back championships? Interpret the epic showdown in three dimensions
上水“怪兽仓”两幼犬被困笼内 一狗断尾惹乌蝇 区议员联络仓主无果报警求助
shàng shuǐ guài shòu cāng liǎng yòu quǎn bèi kùn lóng nèi yī gǒu duàn wěi rě wū yíng qū yì yuán lián lào cāng zhǔ wú guǒ bào jǐng qiú zhù
Two puppies were trapped in the cage of the "monster warehouse" in Sheung Shui, and a dog had its tail cut off and provoked flies
斯洛伐克政府因乌克兰中断俄罗斯石油过境运输,宣布自..
sī 洛 fá kè zhèng fǔ yīn wū kè lán zhōng duàn é luó sī shí yóu guò jìng yùn shū , xuān bù zì . .
The Government of Slovakia, in response to Ukraine's interruption of Russian oil transit, has announced that since...
“友谊”管道中断背后的博弈:能源战与欧盟扩员之争
yǒu yì guǎn dào zhōng duàn bēi hòu de bó yì néng yuán zhàn yú ōu méng kuò yuán zhī zhēng
The Game Behind the Disruption of the "Friendship" Pipeline: The Energy War and the EU Expansion Debate
谁告诉你们汤姆把腿摔断的？
Shéi gàosu nǐmen Tāngmǔ bǎ tuǐ shuāiduàn de?
Who told you Tom broke his leg?
昨晚的火灾被断定为由纵火引起的。
Zuówǎn de huǒzāi bèi duàndìng wèi yóu zònghuǒ yǐnqǐ de.
The fire that broke out last night was judged to be caused by arson.
他滑雪时摔断了腿。
Tā huáxuě shí shuāiduàn le tuǐ.
He broke his leg skiing.
我弄断了我吉他的一根弦。
Wǒ nòng duàn le wǒ jítā de yī gēn xián.
I broke a string on my guitar.
汤姆的手臂和手断了些骨头。
Tāngmǔ de shǒubì hé shǒu duàn le xiē gǔtou.
Tom broke some bones in his arm and hand.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 断 (duàn) mean in Chinese?
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What characters sound the same as 断 (duàn)?
Is 断 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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