中断
zhōng duàn · HSK 5
to cut short
✂️ 中 = middle + 断 = break; break in the middle = interrupt
中 means middle or center, and 断 means to break or sever. To break something in the middle of its course is to cut it short or interrupt it. Related: 断绝 (sever ties), 判断 (judge, lit. decide-break).
中 — vertical stroke 丨 through enclosure 口
Pictograph of a banner or pole piercing the center of a target or territory, depicting the idea of 'middle' or 'center'. The horizontal frame represents boundaries, and the vertical line marks the central axis. The meaning extended from spatial center to 'middle, central, China' (中国, the Middle Kingdom).
断 — thread 㡭 (silk bundle) + axe 斤
Originally written with 㡭 (entangled silk threads) on the left and 斤 (axe) on the right, depicting an axe cutting through bundled threads. From this concrete image of severing came the meanings 'to cut off,' 'to break,' and by extension 'to decide' or 'judge'—as in resolving a matter decisively.