断

Tap the pinyin to hear it

to break; to snap; to cut off; to give up or abstain from sth; to judge; (usu. used in the negative) absolutely; definitely; decidedly

Sound it out + + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Ideographic compound (会意字)

Using an axe 斤 to harvest grain 米

Components 米斤 ? unknown part

sever · Heisig RSH #931

米 rice + fishhook + tomahawk

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
长流水，不断线	cháng liú shuǐ , bù duàn xiàn	continuous and patient effort (idiom)
风波不断	fēng bō bù duàn	constantly in turmoil; crisis after crisis
断头台	duàn tóu tái	guillotine; scaffold
断头路	duàn tóu lù	dead-end road; (fig.) impasse
龙门山断层	Lóng mén shān duàn céng	Longmenshan fault line, a tectonically active thrust fault line at the northwest boundary …
不断	bù duàn	unceasing; uninterrupted; continuous; constant
断路器	duàn lù qì	circuit breaker
中断	zhōng duàn	to cut short; to break off; to discontinue; to interrupt
断生	duàn shēng	(of food) to be cooked just until no longer raw
自行了断	zì xíng liǎo duàn	to take one's life
断行	duàn háng	line break (computing)
断行	duàn xíng	to carry out resolutely
断气	duàn qì	to stop breathing; to breathe one's last; to die; to cut the gas supply
断电	duàn diàn	to experience a power outage; to have a power failure
公断	gōng duàn	arbitration (law)
清官难断家务事	qīng guān nán duàn jiā wù shì	even an honest and upright official will have difficulty resolving a family dispute (prove…
点断式	diǎn duàn shì	designed to be torn off along a line of perforations
断开	duàn kāi	to break; to sever; to turn off (electric switch)
当机立断	dāng jī lì duàn	to make prompt decisions (idiom)
应机立断	yìng jī lì duàn	to act on an opportunity (idiom); to take prompt advantage of a situation

These characters use 断 as their sound component — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
断 sound part	duàn	to sever, to cut off, to interrupt
簖	duàn	a bamboo trap for catching fish