Taxonomy of meanings for 破:　　

  • 破 pò (OC: phaals MC: pʰuɑ) 普過切 去 廣韻：【破壞又虜三字姓三氏北齊書有破六韓常後魏書有北境賊破六汗拔陵又西方破多羅氏後改爲潘氏普過切二 】
    • DESTROY
      • vadNruined; destroyed
      • vpostadVdegreeV to the extant that N is destroyed (complement of degree/resultative complement) 打破
      • vt(oN)destroy the contextually determinate object
      • vt+prep+Nfigurativedestroy
      • vtoNsmash to pieces; ruin;
      • vtoNfigurativedestroy > refute (a proposition)
      • vtoNmiddle voiceget destroyed, get smashed
      • what hides something>SHOW
        • late colloquial: perfective> VERBAL SUFFIXES
        • grammaticalised, late colloquial>ALL
          • resultative>TATTERED
            • vadNworn out
            • vtoNpassivebe smashed to pieces
          • military>DEFEAT
            • vtoNHF 1.2.57: rout (the enemy one faces), smash the opponent
            • vtoNpassivebe defeated, be completely routed
            • in argument>REFUTE
              • in discourse>DENY
                • in action>OFFEND
                  • vt+prep+Noffend against
                  • vtoNBUDDH: offend against (precepts etc.)
                • resultative: spatial>SCATTER
              • CLASSIFIERS
              • pòBREAK
                • vtoNbreak (a piece of jade)CH
                • nab.(post-N)the breaking of the contextually determinate NCH

              Additional information about 破

              說文解字: 【破】，石碎也。从石、皮聲。 【普過切】 〔小徐本「碎」、「破」二字次於 「碞」字之後。〕

                Criteria
              • DEFEAT

                1. The current general word for defeating someoneor some state in any form of battle is bài 敗.

                2. Pò 破 (ant. quán 全 "leave intact") refers to a complete routing of an opponent.

                3. Jìn 盡 refers to the complete annihilation of an opponent.

                4. Fù 覆 refers to the inflicting of a major defeat with lasting effects on an army.

                5. Qīng 傾 refers to the toppling of a system of government.

                6. Wáng 亡 (ant. cún 存 "allow to survive") refers specifically to causing the discontinuation of a state.

                7. Cuò 挫 refers specifically to inflicting a military defeat on an army.

                8. Bài jī 敗績 refers to a major military defeat.

                9. Fù 負 occasionally refers to a defeat suffered, but usually in the combination shèng fù 勝負, and as a verb it does not take objects or complements. See FAIL

              • DESTROY

                1. The current general word for destruction of any kind is huǐ 毀, and what is destroyed may anything from a toy or a house to a state.

                2. Miè 滅 refers to the physical destruction of cities or states, and the word implies the use of external military force, and typically military resistance.

                3. Pò 破 is always violent destruction of concrete objects of any kind.

                4. Cán 殘 focusses on the reckless attitude shown by the destroyer.

                5. Yāng 殃 focusses on the disaster constituted by destruction, and this word is used mostly nominally.

                6. Suì 碎 focusses on complete smashing into small pieces of what is destroyed.

                7. Huài 壞 and huī 墮 / 隳 are "to be destroyed, to collapse" but the words are also used transitively "cause to be destroyed, cause to collapse".

                8. Wáng 亡 (ant. fù 復 "reestablish") refers to the political/social ruin of a state and does not focus on any form of physical annihilation or damage.

                9. Bài 敗 and zéi 賊 are currently used for the destruction of abstract things such as dé 德 "virtue".

                Word relations
              • Result: (DEFEAT)戰/BATTLE The general term is zhàn 戰 (ant. hé 和 "ceasing of hostilities, ceasefire") and refers to any military engagement at a given time. [GENERAL], [TEMPORARY]
              • Contrast: (DEFEAT)拔/WIN Bá 拔 and jǔ 舉 refers to conquering a place without necessarily keeping full control over it.
              • Synon: (OFFEND)犯/OFFEND Fàn 犯 (ant. cǒng 從 "follow obediently") refers as a derogatory term to a deliberate and active breaking of a rule.
              • Synon: (DESTROY)絕/DESTROY