突破
túpò · HSK 5
make a breakthrough
💥 突 = sudden burst + 破 = break; a sudden break-through
突 means to dash out suddenly (dog 犬 bursting from a hole 穴); 破 means to break or split. Together: bursting through a barrier — a breakthrough or surmounting an obstacle.
破 — stone 石 + skin/hide 皮
破 is a semantic-phonetic compound: 石 (stone) gives the meaning 'to break, smash,' since stones were used to crack things, while 皮 (pí) supplies the sound. The original sense of breaking stone broadened to mean 'broken,' 'damaged,' or 'to defeat.'