砸 meaning and stroke order
To smash; to pound; to fail
How to write 砸, stroke by stroke
10 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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- 10
Meaning of 砸
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to smash
- to pound
- to fail
- to muck up
- to bungle
How 砸 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Rock.
石 gives the meaning and 匝 hints at the sound.
Radical: 石 (stone), shared by 114 characters on this site.
How to remember 砸
砸 has 石 (shí, stone) on the left for meaning and 匝 (zā) on the right for sound. Picture a stone coming down to smash something, and the zā sound tells you it is said zá.
砸 means to hit something hard with a heavy object, or to break it that way, as in 砸碎 (zásuì) and 砸烂 (zálàn). In casual speech it also means to fail or ruin something, most often in 搞砸 (gǎozá). Example: 我把考试搞砸了。(Wǒ bǎ kǎoshì gǎozá le.) I messed up the exam.
Common mistake: Learners often give 砸 the first tone because its sound part 匝 is zā, but 砸 is second tone, zá. Also do not confuse it with 杂 (zá, mixed), which has the same sound but means something completely different.
Common words with 砸
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
砸 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 砸
How many strokes are in 砸?
砸 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 砸 mean?
砸 (zá) means to smash; to pound; to fail. A common word with it is 搞砸 (gǎozá), meaning "to mess (sth) up; to foul up".
How do you pronounce 砸?
砸 is pronounced zá, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 砸?
The radical of 砸 is 石, which carries the idea of "stone". Dictionaries list 砸 under this radical.
Is 砸 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 砸 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 砸 and 打 when talking about hitting?
打 (dǎ) is a general word for hitting, striking, or playing. 砸 suggests a heavy object coming down hard, often breaking what it hits, such as a rock smashing a window.
Can 砸 describe something falling and hitting a person?
Yes. You can say 被石头砸到了 (bèi shítou zá dào le), meaning someone was hit by a falling stone. In serious cases people use 砸死 (zásǐ), crushed to death.