砸 (zá) is a Chinese character meaning “to smash”. It is written from 石 (stone; rock) and 匝 (a full circle; one round (measure word for circuits)), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “to smash”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
石 + 匝
Left–right structure
Structure from: IDS 拆分（Unicode 现代字形，已对照 hanzi-writer 笔画核验）
Memory aid
A stone (石) on the left, and 匝 — "a full circle" — on the right. Swing the stone all the way round and bring it down: smash!
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 砸碎zá suìto smash to pieces砸 = zá
- 砸坏zá huàito smash and break; to damage by hitting砸 = zá
Go deeper
All readings
to smash
to smash; to pound; to hit with something heavy; (colloquial) to fail, to bungle
用重物猛力撞击或打；也指打破、弄坏；口语里指事情办坏了、失败。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 砸碎zá suìto smash to pieces砸 = zá
- 砸坏zá huàito smash and break; to damage by hitting砸 = zá
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 砸 mean?
砸 (zá) means to smash; to pound; to hit with something heavy; (colloquial) to fail, to bungle.
How do you pronounce 砸?
It is pronounced zá.
What parts is 砸 made of?
石 (stone; rock) and 匝 (a full circle; one round (measure word for circuits)), side by side. The recorded source is: IDS 拆分（Unicode 现代字形，已对照 hanzi-writer 笔画核验）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 砸 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 砸?
石. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 砸?
Common ones are 砸碎 and 砸坏. The reading of 砸 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.