Meaning & readings

crush, smash, break, dissipate

On’yomi カイ、エ
Kun’yomi つぶ.す、つぶ.れる、つい.える

Origin

This character combines water (shown by the three-dot radical on the left) with the character for precious or valuable (on the right). The idea is that when something precious or solid is mixed with water, it becomes broken down and dissipates — like a valuable object crumbling or dissolving. The water component suggests the process of destruction, while the precious component represents something substantial being destroyed. Together they paint a picture of something solid and important being crushed or scattered away.

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Compound ideographic (combined meanings).

15 strokes

Components

  • radical left
  • meaning part right

Common words

  • 潰す つぶす to smash; to crush
  • 潰れる つぶれる to be crushed; to be squashed
  • 顔を潰す かおをつぶす to make someone lose face; to embarrass someone

Reference

Strokes
15
Kangxi radical
85
Grade
Jōyō (secondary school)
Frequency rank
Former JLPT
Unicode
U+06F70