HSK 5 · Verbs

拆 chāi “to tear open” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 拆 means

  1. to tear open
  2. to tear down
  3. to tear apart
  4. to open

How to say 拆

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale拆chāi1st tone, high and level

拆 in a sentence

  1. 他们正在拆这面墙。

    Tāmen zhèngzài chāi zhè miàn qiáng.

    They’re knocking down this wall.

    Sentence #875056 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

  2. 他怎么敢拆我的信！

    Tā zěnme gǎn chāi wǒ de xìn!

    How dare he open my letter!

    Sentence #333331 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 我喜欢把东西拆开，看看里面的结构。

    Wǒ xǐhuan bǎ dōngxi chāikāi, kànkan lǐmiàn de jiégòu.

    I like taking things apart to see how they’re put together.

    Sentence #1746109 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

How 拆 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 拆 (chāi) with each of its parts in a different colour
拆chāito tear open
  • 扌hand form of 手 · shǒuMeaning part
  • 斥to scold · chìSound part

扌 hints at the meaning (hand); 斥 (chì) hints at the sound. Compare it with chāi.

How to write 拆

拆 8 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

拆 (chāi) stroke order chart: each stroke of the character in the order you write it
Stroke order chart for 拆 (chāi). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 拆

More words: Common Verbs

采取cǎiqǔ · to adopt or carry out (measures踩cǎi · to step on参与cānyù · to take part (in)插chā · to insert产生chǎnshēng · to produce吵chǎo · to quarrel抄chāo · to copy (by hand)趁chèn · to take advantage of (a time or chance)

FAQs

拆 (chāi) means “to tear open” or “to tear down”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it chāi: chāi with a 1st tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 拆 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type chai with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 拆 from the suggestions. Typing chai into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
拆 is an HSK 5 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.