破 (pò) is a Chinese character meaning “broken”. It is written from 石 (stone; rock) and 皮 (skin; hide; leather), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “broken; to break”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
石 + 皮
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 破，石碎也。从石，皮聲。
Memory aid
Crack the skin (皮) of a stone (石) and it breaks open — 破 means broken.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 破坏pò huàito destroy; to damage; to wreck破 = pòHSK 4
- 打破dǎ pòto break; to smash; to break (a record or silence)破 = pò
- 捅破tǒng pòto poke a hole through; to lay bare (a secret)破 = pò
- 破绽pò zhàna flaw; a weak point (in an argument or story)破 = pò
Go deeper
All readings
broken; to break
broken; worn out; to break; to split; to defeat
受损的、不完整的；使破碎、打破。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 破坏pò huàito destroy; to damage; to wreck破 = pòHSK 4
- 打破dǎ pòto break; to smash; to break (a record or silence)破 = pò
- 捅破tǒng pòto poke a hole through; to lay bare (a secret)破 = pò
- 破绽pò zhàna flaw; a weak point (in an argument or story)破 = pò
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 破 mean?
破 (pò) means broken; worn out; to break; to split; to defeat.
How do you pronounce 破?
It is pronounced pò.
What parts is 破 made of?
石 (stone; rock) and 皮 (skin; hide; leather), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 破，石碎也。从石，皮聲。. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 破 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 破?
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 破?
Common ones are 破坏 and 打破. The reading of 破 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.