粉碎
fěn suì · HSK 7
to crush
💥 powder + shattered = crushed to dust
粉 means powder or flour, 碎 means broken into pieces. Together they describe something smashed so thoroughly it becomes powder — total destruction, ground down to nothing.
粉 — rice 米 + divide 分
A semantic-phonetic compound: 米 (rice/grain) gives the meaning, while 分 (fēn, 'divide') hints at the sound. It originally referred to rice flour or finely ground powder, then extended to any powder and to the pale pinkish color of such powders.
碎 — stone radical 石 + 卒 (zú, phonetic)
碎 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The stone radical 石 carries the meaning, suggesting things being broken into small pieces like crushed stone. The right side 卒 (zú) provides the phonetic clue to its pronunciation suì, meaning 'to shatter' or 'fragmentary'.