壊

音読おんよみ: カイ・エ

訓読くんよみ: こわれる・こわす

画数かくすう: 16

部首ぶしゅ: つちへん（土）

Meaning

Break / Destroy / Demolish

Conjugation
Tap for 壊れる (be broken) Tap for 壊す (break; destroy)
  • 壊こわれる — to break; to be damaged (intrans.)
  • 壊こわす — to break; to destroy (trans.)
  • 破壊はかい — destruction; demolition
  • 損壊そんかい — damage; breakage
  • 崩壊ほうかい — collapse; breakdown

壊 uses the radical 土（つちへん） “earth/ground,” hinting at crumbling soil or structures, combined with a phonetic part that gives the reading カイ. From the image of something collapsing into the earth, the meanings “break,” “destroy,” and “demolish” developed.

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