Dictionary › 撕

撕

sī

Old HSK 5 HSK 3.0 character level 7-9 Character

撕 (sī) means "to tear". It is an HSK 3.0 level 7-9 word, and was HSK 5 in the old six-level list.

What 撕 means

1. to tear

Example sentences

• 他把书撕烂了。
  Tā bǎ shū sīlàn le.
  He tore the book apart.
• 我撕开了信封。
  I ripped the envelope open.
• 汤姆把票撕碎。
  Tom tore the ticket to bits.
• 汤姆把信撕碎了。
  Tāngmǔ bǎ xìn sīsuì le.
  Tom ripped up the letter.
• 我把报纸撕烂了。
  Wǒ bǎ bàozhǐ sīlàn le.
  I ripped up the newspaper.
• 玛丽把报纸撕碎了。
  Mǎlì bǎ bàozhǐ sīsuì le.
  Mary tore up the newspaper.

Words starting with 撕

• 撕裂sī lièto tear; to rip apart
• 撕掉sī diàoto tear out (and throw away); to rip away
• 撕心裂肺sī xīn liè fèiin unbearable anguish; agonizing
• 撕破sī pòto tear; to rip
• 撕碎sī suìto tear to shreds
• 撕扯sī chěto tear apart
• 撕毁sī huǐto tear up; to rip up; too shred
• 撕咬sī yǎoto tear at (with the teeth, like one animal attacking another)
• 撕烂sī lànto tear up; to tear to pieces
• 撕票sī piàolit. to tear the ticket; to kill a hostage (usually held for ransom)
• 撕逼sī bī(slang) (lit.) to tear cunt; (fig.) (of females) to have a catfight; to have a bitch fight
• 撕破脸sī pò liǎnto have an acrimonious falling-out; to shed all pretense of cordiality…
• 撕破脸皮sī pò liǎn písee 撕破脸

Characters built on 斯

These share the phonetic component 斯 (sī), which is why their readings rhyme. Learning them as a family is far cheaper than learning them one at a time.

• 嘶sīhiss; neigh; Ss!…
• 厮sī(bound form) together; each other; (bound form) male servant; (bound form) dude…

Characters that look like 撕

Easy to confuse on sight. Compare them side by side once and the pair stops costing you.

• 衡héngto weigh; weight; measure
• 撇piēto cast away; to fling aside
• 獗juéused in 猖獗
• 撅juēto protrude; to stick out; to pout (also written 噘)
• 翱áosee 翱翔
• 槲húMongolian oak (Quercus dentata); see also 槲树

Sounds the same

Read sī, tone for tone, but written differently.

• 斯(phonetic); this
• 司to take charge of; to manage; department (under a ministry)
• 思to think; to consider
• 丝silk; thread-like thing; (cuisine) shreds or julienne strips…
• 私personal; private; selfish
• 厮(bound form) together; each other; (bound form) male servant; (bound form) dude…
• 嘶hiss; neigh; Ss!…
• 咝(onomatopoeia) to hiss; to whistle; to whiz
• 锶strontium (chemistry)
• 蛳snail
• 鸶heron
• 虒amphibious animal with one horn

Where 撕 is taught

In the GraphChinese course it is part of Technology & Digital Tools (HSK 5), each one a topic in the dependency graph of HSK 1–6 that opens only once its prerequisites are solid.

Go deeper

• Every HSK 5 word, with the rest of its level.
• How characters are built from components.
• How to learn Chinese characters.
• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read sī correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.