砕 means “smash, break into pieces”

くだく · kudaku

Also: break, crush, familiar

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

くだく, くだける

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

サイ

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 9 strokes

The story

Stone (石) and 卆, a squeezed form of 卒, finish: rock pounded until it is finished, in pieces. 砕く is to smash, 粉砕 is to pulverize, and speech that is 砕けた has had its stiffness broken: casual and relaxed.

Used in 砕く (kudaku, to smash), 粉砕 (funsai, pulverizing/crushing), and 砕けた (kudaketa, casual/informal)

More from Crumble & Ruin

• 朽 decay
• 毀 damage
• 潰 crush
• 綻 come apart
• 壊 break
• 崩 crumble
• 削 shave
• 裂 tear
• 陥 fall into
• 滅 perish
• 腐 rot

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Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.