How to Write 垮 (kuǎ) — Meaning “to collapse”

Imagine a person boasting (夸) so much that the ground (土) under them gives way and they collapse into a hole. The visual of 'bragging causing a cave-in' helps link the sound kuǎ and the meaning. You can also think of '夸' as 'big talk' that literally makes the earth fall apart.

The left side (土) should be written narrow and tall, with the horizontal stroke slightly shorter than the last horizontal stroke of the right side. A common mistake is making the radical 土 too wide or misaligning it with the right component 夸 — the top of 夸 should be level with the top of 土. The bottom part of 夸 (the 亏-like shape) must not be confused with a different radical; keep its strokes clear and separate.

Unlike 垮 (meaning 'to collapse'), 圻 (qí) means 'boundary' or 'border' and is rarely used today — it appears only in ancient place names. 圼 (niè) is an even rarer character meaning 'to obstruct' or 'a small mound.' Visually, 圻 has 斤 on the right, 圼 has 日 on top of 土, while 垮 has 夸 on the right — their meanings and pronunciations are completely unrelated to collapsing.

垮 is most often used in words like 垮台 (kuǎ tái), meaning a government or leader falls from power, and 累垮 (lèi kuǎ), meaning to collapse from exhaustion. It is a strong and common verb in daily speech, especially when describing something breaking down under pressure, such as a building collapsing or a person's health failing. Culturally, it frequently appears in news about political regimes or in conversations about extreme fatigue.

Common words containing 垮 include: 垮台 (kuǎ tái) — to fall from power; to collapse; 打垮 (dǎ kuǎ) — to defeat; to smash; to break down; 累垮 (lèi kuǎ) — to collapse from exhaustion.