坏

壞
huài
adjective HSK 2 #433

Meanings

  1. 1 bad
  2. 2 broken
  3. 3 spoiled

Examples

HSK 1
Zhè ge rén hěn huài.
This person is very bad.
HSK 1
Diànnǎo huài le.
The computer is broken.
HSK 1
Zhè ge píngguǒ huài le.
This apple has gone bad.

Tips

grammar
坏了 can mean 'broken' (for things), 'spoiled' (for food), or 'ruined' (for situations). The 了 indicates a change of state.

Components

radical
土 tǔ
earth; soil
Left earth radical - the indexing component. The simplified 坏 was rebuilt from the cursive shape of traditional 壞 (which had a much more elaborate right side meaning to ruin/demolish). 土 here carries the flavor of crumbling soil, dirt-pile, things falling apart and reduced to mud.
phonetic
不 bù
not; no
Right 不 - a clean visual mnemonic (土 + 不 = 'not earth/not good') even though etymologically it's a stand-in for the much more complex right side of 壞. The negation reading lines up beautifully with the 'bad/broken' meaning. Sound-wise, bù → huài has no direct relation; treat as a memory hook rather than a phonetic.

Stroke Order

坏 huài