劈 (pǐ): to split in two; to divide

Meanings

1 to split in two; to divide
2 to spread apart (the legs, fingers)

Characters

劈

pǐ

to split in two; to divide

Examples

HSK 3

据说那个男歌手劈腿了。

Jùshuō nàge nán gēshǒu pǐtuǐ le.

It is said that the male singer was caught two-timing.

HSK 5

她能轻松地劈叉。

Tā néng qīngsōng de pǐchà.

She can do the splits with ease.

HSK 7-9

把这捆竹子劈成两半。

Bǎ zhè kǔn zhúzi pǐ chéng liǎngbàn.

Split this bundle of bamboo into two halves.

Tips

usage

The pǐ reading is 'to divide / spread apart': 劈叉 (the splits), 劈柴 (chopped firewood, as the resulting noun, versus the action 劈柴). 劈腿 literally means 'to do the splits' but in everyday talk it overwhelmingly means to cheat on a partner, to two-time.

Components

radical

刀 dāo

knife; blade

Bottom knife radical, the indexing radical in its full standalone form. A pictograph of a curved blade. It anchors 劈 in the cutting family with 剁, 砍, 切. 劈 specifically means splitting with a downward stroke.

phonetic

辟 pì

to open up; ruler

Top thirteen strokes form 辟, originally a sovereign decreeing punishment, with the side meaning 'to open up, split open' as in 开辟. It supplies the sound, shifted to pī. The same phonetic appears in 譬, 僻, 避. The 'splitting open' sense carries directly into 劈.