Show pageOld revisionsBacklinksBack to top This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong. ====== zá: 砸 - To Smash, Pound, Fail, Screw Up ====== ===== Quick Summary ===== * **Keywords:** 砸, za, Chinese word for smash, Chinese word for fail, Chinese for screw up, 搞砸, gaoza, 砸了, za le, 砸锅, za guo, learn Chinese, Chinese slang * **Summary:** Learn the versatile Chinese word 砸 (zá), which means not only 'to smash' or 'pound' something physically but is also a common slang term for 'to fail' or 'screw up'. Discover how this single character can describe everything from breaking a window to bombing a performance, and understand its cultural nuances in common phrases like 砸了 (zá le) and 搞砸 (gǎozá). This guide will help you grasp both its literal and figurative meanings, making your Mandarin sound more natural and authentic. ===== Core Meaning ===== * **Pinyin (with tone marks):** zá * **Part of Speech:** Verb * **HSK Level:** HSK 4 * **Concise Definition:** To strike, smash, or pound with force; to fail, be unsuccessful, or mess up. * **In a Nutshell:** 砸 is a word of impact. Literally, it describes a forceful, heavy, downward action, like smashing a walnut with a hammer or a falling object hitting the ground. Figuratively, it carries this same feeling of a sudden, crashing, and often complete failure. When you say something "砸了 (zá le)," it's not a small mistake; it's a total bomb, a screw-up, a performance that fell flat on its face. It’s dramatic, informal, and very common in everyday speech. ===== Character Breakdown ===== * **砸 (zá):** This is a phono-semantic compound character, meaning one part gives the meaning and the other gives the sound. * **石 (shí):** This is the semantic radical, meaning "stone" or "rock." It provides the core concept of the word: the action is hard, forceful, and involves something heavy, like hitting with a stone. * **匝 (zā):** This is the phonetic component. While it has its own meaning ("to encircle"), its primary function here is to give the character its sound, "za." * **Combined Meaning:** The "stone" radical (石) is the key to understanding 砸. It tells you that the action is not gentle. It's about using force and weight to strike or break something, which perfectly explains both its literal "smashing" meaning and its figurative "crashing failure" meaning. ===== Cultural Context and Significance ===== * The figurative use of 砸 is where its cultural richness lies. It's more than just "to fail" (失败, shībài); it implies a public, embarrassing, and catastrophic failure. This often connects to the concept of **[[面子]] (miànzi)**, or "face" (social standing and reputation). * **Comparison to Western Culture:** Think of the difference between "I didn't pass the audition" and "I totally **bombed** the audition." The first is a simple statement of fact. The second is emotional, dramatic, and implies a terrible performance—that's the feeling of 砸了 (zá le). It's the equivalent of "flubbing your lines," "crashing and burning," or "botching the job." * **Cultural Metaphors:** The word forms part of vivid cultural metaphors. For instance, **砸饭碗 (zá fànwǎn)** literally means "to smash one's rice bowl." The "rice bowl" is a powerful symbol for one's job and livelihood. So, to "smash your rice bowl" means to get yourself fired or lose your source of income, usually through a foolish action. This is much more evocative than simply saying "lose your job." ===== Practical Usage in Modern China ===== * 砸 is extremely common in spoken, informal Chinese. You'll hear it constantly among friends, on social media, and in TV shows. * === Literal Usage: Physical Smashing === * This is its most straightforward use. It means to hit something hard with a heavy object. * //"He smashed the window with a rock." (他用石头砸了窗户。) // * //"A falling apple砸 (zá)'d him on the head." (一个苹果砸在了他头上。) // * === Figurative Usage: Failing & Screwing Up === * This is the most frequent usage in modern conversation. It's used to describe a failure in a task, performance, or plan. * **Performances & Exams:** This is a classic context. Any time there's pressure to perform, 砸 is the perfect word for failing. * //My interview was a disaster. (我的面试砸了。) // * //Don't be nervous, you'll bomb the speech. (别紧张，不然演讲会砸的。) // * **Projects & Business:** It can describe a project that has fallen apart or a deal that has failed. * //This business deal fell through. (这笔生意砸了。) // * **General Screw-ups:** It's often combined with 搞 (gǎo) to form **搞砸 (gǎozá)**, a super common term for "to mess up" or "to bungle." * //I really messed things up this time. (这次我把事情搞砸了。) // ===== Example Sentences ===== * **Example 1:** (Literal: Smashing) * 他一气之下，把手机**砸**在了地上。 * Pinyin: Tā yíqì zhīxià, bǎ shǒujī **zá** zài le dìshang. * English: In a fit of anger, he smashed his phone on the ground. * Analysis: A clear, literal use of 砸. The action is forceful and destructive. The particle 在 (zài) indicates the location where the smashing happened. * **Example 2:** (Figurative: Bombing an exam) * 我昨天的数学考试彻底**砸**了，可能要不及格了。 * Pinyin: Wǒ zuótiān de shùxué kǎoshì chèdǐ **zá** le, kěnéng yào bù jígé le. * English: I completely bombed yesterday's math exam; I might fail. * Analysis: This is a classic example for students. 砸了 is much more common and natural here than saying 失败了 (shībài le) in a conversation with a friend. 彻底 (chèdǐ) means "thoroughly," emphasizing the completeness of the failure. * **Example 3:** (Figurative: A plan failing) * 本来计划得好好的，结果被他一个人给**砸**了。 * Pinyin: Běnlái jìhuà de hǎohǎo de, jiéguǒ bèi tā yí ge rén gěi **zá** le. * English: The plan was originally well-made, but in the end, it was ruined by him alone. * Analysis: This shows how 砸 can be used in a passive context with 被 (bèi). The plan "was smashed" by someone, highlighting that one person's actions caused the total failure. * **Example 4:** (Compound: 搞砸) * 对不起，我不是故意的，我把你的生日派对**搞砸**了。 * Pinyin: Duìbuqǐ, wǒ búshì gùyì de, wǒ bǎ nǐ de shēngrì pàiduì **gǎozá** le. * English: I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I messed up your birthday party. * Analysis: 搞砸 (gǎozá) is an inseparable verb compound that is almost a direct synonym for the figurative meaning of 砸. It's extremely common and informal. * **Example 5:** (Set Phrase: 砸锅) * 这是我们最后的机会了，千万不能**砸锅**。 * Pinyin: Zhè shì wǒmen zuìhòu de jīhuì le, qiānwàn bù néng **zá guō**. * English: This is our last chance, we absolutely cannot screw it up. * Analysis: 砸锅 (zá guō), literally "to smash the pot," is a set phrase meaning to fail or bungle a task. It's a vivid image suggesting that if you fail, you won't even have a pot to cook with. * **Example 6:** (Literal: Being hit by something) * 小心！别让广告牌掉下来**砸**到你！ * Pinyin: Xiǎoxīn! Bié ràng guǎnggàopái diào xiàlái **zá** dào nǐ! * English: Be careful! Don't let the billboard fall and hit you! * Analysis: Here, 砸到 (zá dào) means "to successfully hit" someone or something. The verb complement 到 (dào) indicates the result of the action was achieved. * **Example 7:** (Set Phrase: 砸场子) * 你是故意来我这儿**砸场子**的吗？ * Pinyin: Nǐ shì gùyì lái wǒ zhèr **zá chǎngzi** de ma? * English: Are you intentionally here to ruin my event (or cause trouble)? * Analysis: 砸场子 (zá chǎngzi), literally "to smash the venue," is a confrontational phrase. It means to deliberately disrupt or sabotage someone's event, performance, or business. * **Example 8:** (Figurative: "Sinking" money into something) * 他把所有的积蓄都**砸**到这个项目里了。 * Pinyin: Tā bǎ suǒyǒu de jīxù dōu **zá** dào zhège xiàngmù lǐ le. * English: He sank all his savings into this project. * Analysis: This is a unique, nuanced usage. Here, 砸 means to invest a large amount of money, usually in a risky or all-or-nothing way. It carries the same sense of a heavy, forceful action—like throwing a bag of money at a project. It often implies the investment was lost. * **Example 9:** (Set Phrase: 砸饭碗) * 他因为这个错误**砸**了自己的铁饭碗。 * Pinyin: Tā yīnwèi zhège cuòwù **zá** le zìjǐ de tiě fànwǎn. * English: He lost his own stable job ("smashed his own iron rice bowl") because of this mistake. * Analysis: The "iron rice bowl" (铁饭碗, tiě fànwǎn) is a classic Chinese metaphor for a secure, stable job, especially a government one. Smashing it is a powerful image for losing that security. * **Example 10:** (Figurative: Ruining a performance) * 那个歌手一紧张，高音没唱上去，把一首好歌给**砸**了。 * Pinyin: Nàge gēshǒu yì jǐnzhāng, gāoyīn méi chàng shàngqù, bǎ yì shǒu hǎo gē gěi **zá** le. * English: As soon as that singer got nervous, he couldn't hit the high note and completely ruined a good song. * Analysis: This perfectly captures the sense of a performance failure. The singer didn't just make a mistake; his failure ruined the entire song. ===== Nuances and Common Mistakes ===== * **砸 (zá) vs. 失败 (shībài): The most important distinction.** * **失败 (shībài)** is the neutral, formal word for "to fail" or "failure." You would use it in business reports, academic papers, or formal speeches. (e.g., //我们的实验失败了 - Our experiment failed.//) * **砸 (zá)** is informal, colloquial, and emotional. It means "to bomb," "to screw up," "to crash and burn." You use it when talking to friends about your exam, a date, or an interview. Using 砸 in a formal report would sound very unprofessional. * **砸 (zá) vs. 坏 (huài): Action vs. State.** * **坏 (huài)** means "broken" or "bad." It describes the state of an object. (e.g., //我的手机坏了 - My phone is broken.//) * **砸 (zá)** is the **action** of breaking something with force. You **砸** your phone, and then it becomes **坏**. * **Common Mistake:** A beginner might say //我的电脑砸了// to mean "my computer crashed." This is incorrect. You should say //我的电脑坏了 (huàile)// or //死机了 (sǐjīle)//. You would only say //电脑砸了// if you physically smashed your computer with a hammer! ===== Related Terms and Concepts ===== * * [[失败]] (shībài) - The formal, neutral term for "to fail." The opposite of 砸 in terms of formality and emotional weight. * * [[搞砸]] (gǎozá) - A highly common verb compound meaning "to mess up" or "bungle." A direct and near-perfect synonym for the figurative meaning of 砸. * * [[打破]] (dǎpò) - To break or shatter. A synonym for the literal meaning of 砸. 打破 is more general (e.g., breaking a record), while 砸 implies a heavy, downward blow. * * [[完蛋]] (wándàn) - Colloquial for "to be doomed," "it's over." This is often the result of a situation that has been 砸了. * * [[砸锅]] (zá guō) - Lit. "to smash the pot." A set phrase meaning to screw up a performance or task. * * [[砸场子]] (zá chǎngzi) - Lit. "to smash the venue." A set phrase meaning to intentionally disrupt or ruin someone's event. * * [[饭碗]] (fànwǎn) - "Rice bowl." A metaphor for one's job or livelihood, most famously used in the phrase **砸饭碗 (zá fànwǎn)**, to lose one's job. * * [[弄坏]] (nòng huài) - To make something broken. This focuses on the result of being broken, whereas 砸 focuses on the forceful action that caused it.