How to say “break” in Chinese
break, be cut off
“Break” in Chinese is 断, duàn: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
断 is read duàn. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
On the right, 斤 “axe”: to chop through.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “断”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 断. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 他的汉语水平在不断提高。tādeHànyǔshuǐpíngzàibúduàntígāoHis Chinese keeps getting better.
- 我的体重在不断增加wǒdetǐzhòngzàibúduànzēngjiāMy weight keeps going up.
- 树被大风刮断了shùbèidàfēngguāduànleThe tree was snapped by the strong wind.
- 别打断他让他说完biédǎduàntā,ràngtāshuōwánDon't interrupt him, let him finish.
- 我们要不断改进技术wǒmenyàobúduàngǎijìnjìshùWe need to keep improving our technology.
- 任何事物都在不断变化。rènhéshìwùdōuzàibúduànbiànhuàEverything in the world is constantly changing.
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “It fell and broke”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “break” in Chinese?
“Break” in Chinese is 断, pinyin duàn.
What does 断 mean?
断 (duàn) means “break, be cut off”.
How do you write 断?
断 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 断?
断 is read duàn. Tones: duàn — fourth tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“break” in the lesson “It fell and broke”
This word is from the topic “Hands and objects” of HSK 5. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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