毁坏
huǐ huài · HSK 7
to damage
💥 毁坏 = 毁 destroy + 坏 broken/bad = wreck something into a broken state
毁 (huǐ) means to ruin or destroy; 坏 (huài) means bad or broken. Stack them and you get the act of damaging something until it is wrecked. The two huǐ-huài syllables even rhyme, so they roll off as a pair.
毁 — 臼 mortar + 工 work + 殳 weapon/strike
Originally depicted striking (殳) something in a mortar (臼) to break it apart, with 工 as a phonetic and semantic helper suggesting the action. The core image is of pounding or smashing, which extended from physical destruction to ruining, slandering, or defaming someone.
坏 — earth 土 + 不 (not)
A modern simplified form. The left side 土 (earth) suggests something physical or material, while the right side 不 (not/negative) acts as a semantic hint meaning 'not good.' The traditional form 壞 used 褱 as a phonetic component, but the simplified 坏 reuses an older variant character.