坏 meaning and stroke order
Bad; spoiled; broken
How to write 坏, stroke by stroke
7 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 坏
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- bad
- spoiled
- broken
- to break down
- (suffix) to the utmost
How 坏 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Earth.
土 gives the meaning and 不 hints at the sound.
Radical: 土 (soil), shared by 183 characters on this site.
How to remember 坏
坏 is built from 土 (tǔ, earth), the meaning part, and 不 (bù, not), which here is the sound part. Picture earth that is not solid anymore, a wall of soil crumbling into something bad and broken.
坏 is the everyday word for bad, broken, or spoiled, and it pairs with 好 (hǎo) in words like 好坏 (hǎohuài). After a verb or adjective it can also mean something broke, or that a feeling is extreme: 我的手机坏了。(Wǒ de shǒujī huài le.) My phone is broken.
Common mistake: Learners often write 怀 (huái, bosom; to cherish) instead of 坏, since they look and sound alike. 怀 has the heart radical 忄 and a second tone, while 坏 has the earth radical 土 and a fourth tone.
Common words with 坏
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 坏人 | huàirén | bad person; villain | HSK 2 |
| 坏处 | huàichù | harm; troubles | HSK 2 |
| 破坏 | pòhuài | destruction; damage | HSK 3 |
| 坏事 | huàishì | bad thing; misdeed; to ruin things | HSK 7-9 |
| 损坏 | sǔnhuài | to damage; to injure | HSK 7-9 |
| 毁坏 | huǐhuài | to damage; to devastate | HSK 7-9 |
| 好坏 | hǎohuài | good or bad; good and bad | HSK 7-9 |
| 时好时坏 | shíhǎo-shíhuài | sometimes good, sometimes bad | HSK 7-9 |
| 吓坏 | xiàhuài | to be terrified; to terrify sb | |
| 坏蛋 | huàidàn | bad egg; scoundrel | |
| 坏掉 | huàidiào | to get broken; to get damaged; to get ruined | |
| 坏话 | huàihuà | disparaging remarks; unkind things said about sb | |
| 弄坏 | nònghuài | to ruin; to spoil | |
| 累坏 | lèihuài | to become exhausted |
坏 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 坏
How many strokes are in 坏?
坏 is written with 7 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 坏 mean?
坏 (huài) means bad; spoiled; broken. A common word with it is 坏人 (huàirén), meaning "bad person; villain".
How do you pronounce 坏?
坏 is pronounced huài, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 坏?
The radical of 坏 is 土, which carries the idea of "soil". Dictionaries list 坏 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 坏?
The traditional form of 坏 is 壞. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 坏 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 坏 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 坏 is part of the HSK 1 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 1.
What does 坏 mean in phrases like 累坏了 or 饿坏了?
After an adjective or verb, 坏 can be a suffix meaning to the utmost. 累坏了 (lèi huài le) means exhausted, and 饿坏了 (è huài le) means starving. It stresses how strong the feeling is, not that something is broken.
How do I say food has gone bad with 坏?
Use 坏了 after the food: 牛奶坏了 (niúnǎi huài le) means the milk has gone bad. The 了 shows the change has happened.