Skip to content
Kotomora

毀

break, destroy, censure, be chipped, be scratched, be broken, be ruined

StatusJōyō · secondary schoolStrokes13

Readings

On'yomi

  • キ

Kun'yomi

  • こぼ.つ
  • こわ.す
  • こぼ.れる
  • こわ.れる
  • そし.る
  • やぶ.る

Meaning

毀 centers on physical damage and its consequences: breaking, destroying, or ruining something, and by extension, the act of censuring or speaking ill of someone as a form of social damage.

Most common words using 毀

  • 毀損きそん

    damage; injury; defamation; harm

  • 廃仏毀釈はいぶつきしゃく

    abolish Buddhism, destroy Shākyamuni (slogan of anti-Buddhist movement at the beginning of the Meiji era)

  • 名誉毀損めいよきそん

    libel; defamation; slander; character assassination

  • 名誉毀損罪めいよきそんざい

    (crime of) defamation; libel; slander

  • 哀毀骨立あいきこつりつ

    losing weight and becoming bony because of grief

  • 文書毀棄ぶんしょきき

    damaging documents; concealing documents; spoliation

  • 文書毀棄罪ぶんしょききざい

    (crime of) damaging or concealing documents; spoliation offense

  • 毀つこぼつ

    to destroy; to break; to damage

  • 毀れこぼれ

    nick; chip; scratch

  • 毀れるこぼれる

    to be chipped; to be nicked

  • 毀傷きしょう

    injury; damage

  • 毀壊きかい

    breaking; demolishing; smashing; destroying; wrecking

  • 毀棄きき

    destruction; demolition; damage

  • 毀棄罪ききざい

    (crime of) damaging property; destruction of property

  • 毀誉きよ

    praise and censure; approval and disapproval; approbation and condemnation

  • 毀誉褒貶きよほうへん

    praise and censure; public criticisms

  • 焼毀しょうき

    completely destroying by fire

  • 誹毀ひき

    defamation; libel; calumny; slander

  • 身体髪膚これを父母に受くあえて毀傷せざるは孝の始めなりしんたいはっぷこれをふぼにうくあえてきしょうせざるはこうのはじめなり

    filial piety begins with not harming one's own body (as one's entire body was given by one's parents)

Explore all words using 毀 →

Study

Etymology

毀 combines 臼 (mortar), 土 (earth), and 殳 (a hand holding a weapon or tool), suggesting the act of striking or pounding something into pieces. The exact historical development is uncertain, but the components together convey breaking or destroying.

Meaning mnemonic

Picture a mortar (臼) filled with earth (土) being struck by a hand holding a tool (殳). The pounding breaks the earth into pieces, destroying it. This breaking can also represent damaging someone's reputation through censure.

Reading mnemonic

For キ, imagine a key being used to break open a lock: key -> キ, and the lock is destroyed in the process.