摔 (shuāi) · to fall down; to tumble

Meanings

1 to fall down; to tumble
2 to throw down; to slam
3 to drop and break

Characters

摔

shuāi

to fall; to drop; to smash

Examples

HSK 4

他气得把手机摔了。

Tā qì de bǎ shǒujī shuāi le.

He was so angry he slammed his phone down.

HSK 5

杯子摔碎了。

Bēizi shuāi suì le.

The cup fell and shattered.

HSK 7-9

我在冰上摔了一跤。

Wǒ zài bīngshàng shuāi le yī jiāo.

I slipped and fell on the ice.

Tips

usage

摔 has three main meanings: (1) to fall (摔倒), (2) to throw/slam down in anger (摔门, slam a door), (3) to drop and break (摔碎). Context makes it clear.

memory

The hand radical 扌shows the throwing meaning, while 率 (shuài) provides the sound.

Components

radical

扌 shǒu

hand

Left hand radical, side-form of 手 - the indexing radical. Marks 摔 as a forceful manual action: slamming, hurling, dropping. Even when 摔 means 'to fall down' (摔倒), the verb keeps a sense of impact - you don't just sink, you smack the ground. Same family: 扔 throw, 推 push, 拍 slap.

phonetic

率 shuài

lead; rate (here phonetic)

Right side 率 supplies the sound - shuài → shuāi with only a tone shift. Pure phonetic carrier; the 'lead, rate' meanings of 率 contribute nothing here. The visual coincidence of a leader hurling something works as a serviceable learner mnemonic, but historically 率 was chosen for its sound, not its semantics.