毀 (huǐ) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

毀

huǐ[hui3]Tone 3

to destroy

HSK 6

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毁

Guru Deep Dive

English · to destroy

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:13

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left side (臼) compact and structured, while allowing the right side (攴/攵) to extend its sweeping horizontal and downward strokes gracefully without crowding.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 毀 preserves the inner structural details of mortars and striking hands, while the simplified form 毁 streamlines the components slightly for fluid handwriting.

1. Meaning

to destroy, to ruin

to defameto slanderto break down

VerbFormal#destruction#action#communication

Sample Usage

这场大火毁了整座村庄。
Zhè chǎng dàhuǒ huǐ le zhěng zuò cūnzhuāng.
This big fire destroyed the entire village.
造谣生事会毁坏别人的名誉。
Zàoyáo shēngshì huì huǐhuài biérén de míngyù.
Fabricating rumors and making trouble will ruin other people's reputation.

2. Sound

/[xweɪ̯²¹⁴]/Tone: 214

毀

huǐhui3

ˇ(214)

=huǐ

Initial Consonant

Type: Velar Fricative

Sounds like: h like in 'hot'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Gentle throat friction (like fogging glasses on a cold day).

Tongue & Mouth Position: Relaxed tongue base, air friction passes through the open glottis.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -i vowel group

Sounds like: rhymes with 'way'

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'way'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Abbreviated Rhyme Rule: ui is short for uei, with the middle 'e' vowel gliding quickly.

Tone

T3 (214)

2 → 1 → 4 (214)

3rd Tone (Low-Dipping)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 3 starts mid-low, dips down sharply to the bottom of your vocal range, and rises back up, matching an incredulous 'What?' in English.

Sandhi: When followed by another 3rd tone syllable, huǐ shifts to a 2nd tone (rising 35).

👂

Listening trap: Confusing it with huì (4th tone) because the dipping tone can be clipped rapidly in fast native speech.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Start at a mid-low pitch, dip down toward the chest, and sweep upward toward the ceiling like a checkmark.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 13 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left side (臼) compact and structured, while allowing the right side (攴/攵) to extend its sweeping horizontal and downward strokes gracefully without crowding.

4. Components

Radical 殳 · Weapon Radical (weapon, striking, hand action)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 殳 (Indicates striking, beating, or violent physical action leading to damage.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 臼 (original sound: jiù / hui)

A mortar (臼) being violently battered or smashed by a weapon or striking hand (殳), resulting in total destruction.

臼 mortar or grinding vessel
殳 weapon or striking hand

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally depicted a stone mortar being smashed or beaten with a striking implement, representing the physical act of crushing or breaking something apart.

Semantic Evolution: Shifted from the physical destruction of objects (like crushing grain in a mortar) to general destruction, ruining, and further abstractly to verbal defamation or slandering character.

In ancient times, mortar vessels were essential household items, making their destruction a heavy loss.
The character bridges physical breaking actions with moral or reputational ruin.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: カイ / Kun: こわ.す, こわ.れる

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

훼

Sound Shift Bridge: Mandarin huǐ shares semantic roots with Japanese Onyomi kai (as in 破壊 hakai).

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You take a heavy stone mortar (臼) and smash it to pieces with a striking weapon (殳), completely RUINING and DESTROYING it.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

臼

jiùmortarThe standalone vessel base before being smashed.

臾

yúmomentSimilar upper top structure but with different base lines.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

悔(huǐ)

Has the heart radical (忄) on the left instead of a mortar, meaning 'regret' (matters of the heart).

梅(méi)

Has the tree radical (木) on the left, meaning 'plum'.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

這場車禍差點兒___了他的夢想和前途。

Clue: huǐ

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing 毁 (huǐ - destroy) with 悔 (huǐ - regret) due to identical pinyin and tone, ignoring the critical radical difference between a mortar and a heart.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see the character 毁 with a mortar and weapon component, what English verb does it represent?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to destroy or ruin' (huǐ) using the mortar and weapon radicals?

毀huǐto destroy

Speed:

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