(huǐ miè) - to destroy, to wipe out; destruction in Mandarin
huǐmièTraditional: 毀滅
Translation
to destroy, to wipe out; destruction
Word origin
A compound of 毁 (huǐ, to ruin or smash) and 灭 (miè, to extinguish), the second character showing a fire pressed out under a lid. Together they mean to wipe out completely.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 毁 (huǐ, to ruin) + 灭 (miè, to extinguish)
Stroke order
毁
灭
Examples
。
The war destroyed the entire city.
。
He wanted to destroy all the evidence.
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That great fire wiped out the whole forest.
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Nobody wants the world to be destroyed.
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That affair almost destroyed his whole life.
毁灭 (huǐ miè) is total destruction: a city flattened, a forest burnt out, evidence gone beyond recovery. It is the verb for things that do not come back.
It works as a noun as readily as a verb, so 毁灭 can be the act or the state, and it takes 被 comfortably when the thing destroyed is the subject: 城市被毁灭了.
The trap for an English speaker is scale. English lets you destroy a cup, a good mood or an afternoon; 毁灭 does not. A broken cup is 打破 or 弄坏, a ruined plan is 破坏. Reach for 毁灭 only when nothing is left.
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毁灭: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "毁灭" (to destroy, to wipe out; destruction): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 49.