HSK 6 · Verbs

中断 zhōngduàn “to interrupt” in Chinese

Traditional 中斷

What 中断 means

  1. to interrupt
  2. to break off
  3. to suspend
  4. to cut short
  5. to discontinue

How to say 中断

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale中zhōng1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale断duàn4th tone, falling

中断 in a sentence

  1. 因为下雨，比赛中断了半个小时。

    Yīnwèi xiàyǔ, bǐsài zhōngduàn le bàn ge xiǎoshí.

    Because of the rain, the match was stopped for half an hour.

    Sentence by WillyChina

  2. 网络突然中断了。

    Wǎngluò tūrán zhōngduàn le.

    The internet connection suddenly dropped out.

    Sentence by WillyChina

How 中断 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 中 (zhōng) with each of its parts in a different colour
中zhōngwithin; among; in
  • 口mouth · kǒu
  • 丨line · gǔn

Memory aidA line 丨 through the centre of a box 口: the middle.

The character 断 (duàn) drawn as one shape
断duànto break

断 is a single shape of 11 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

How to write 中断

中 4 strokes · 断 11 strokes

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

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

Words related to 中断

Words with 中

中午zhōngwǔ · noon中国Zhōngguó · China中学zhōngxué · middle school中学生zhōngxuéshēng · middle-school student高中gāozhōng · senior high school中zhōng · middle中间zhōngjiān · middle中文Zhōngwén · Chinese language初中chūzhōng · junior high school其中qízhōng · among

Words with 断

判断pànduàn · to judge断duàn · to break诊断zhěnduàn · to diagnose不断búduàn · unceasing断定duàndìng · to conclude断绝duànjué · to break off果断guǒduàn · decisive垄断lǒngduàn · monopoly片断piànduàn · fragment

More words: Common Verbs

支配zhīpèi · to control支援zhīyuán · to support制约zhìyuē · to restrict制止zhìzhǐ · to stop终止zhōngzhǐ · to terminate拄zhǔ · to lean on (a stick)拽zhuài · to pull转移zhuǎnyí · to transfer

FAQs

中断 (zhōngduàn) means “to interrupt” or “to break off”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it zhōngduàn: zhōng with a 1st tone, then duàn with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 中断 is written 中斷. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type zhongduan with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 中断 from the suggestions. Typing zhongduan into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
中断 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

Turn words into conversations

A dictionary gives you the words. A native teacher shows you how to use them. Start with a free 30-minute intro call.

Book a free intro call

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 written by WillyChina. Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.