冲撞
chōng zhuàng · HSK 7
to collide
💥🚗 chōng (charge) + zhuàng (crash) = charge-crash, a full-speed collision
The first character 冲 means to rush or charge forward. The second 撞 means to hit or bump into something. Together they describe the violent jolt of two things slamming together — a collision or offensive clash.
冲 — water radical 氵 + middle 中
Originally written 沖, combining the water radical 氵 with 中 ('middle') as the phonetic. The early sense was water surging or pouring, which extended to 'rush, charge, clash.' In simplified Chinese it merged with 冲 (ice radical 冫 + 中), so today 冲 covers both the 'rinse/rush' meanings and some older 沖 uses.
撞 — hand radical 扌 + 童 (child/zhuàng phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The hand radical 扌 carries the meaning of striking or colliding, an action done with force. The component 童 supplies the sound, close to 'zhuàng'. Together they form a character meaning to bump into, strike, or crash against something.