Chinese word

突破

Pronunciation

Pinyintū pò

Meaning

  • verbbreak through

Example

他终于突破了自己的极限。tā zhōng yú tū pò le zì jǐ de jí xiàn

He finally pushed past his own limits.

Illustration for 突破 (break through)

More examples

科学家们成功突破了这项技术的关键难题。kē xué jiā men chéng gōng tū pò le zhè xiàng jì shù de guān jiàn nán tí

Scientists successfully overcame the key challenge in this technology.

Core concept

An old boundary gives way, allowing progress into a new stage or a higher level.

Common phrases

  • 突破瓶颈tū pò píng jǐng

    overcome a bottleneck

  • 突破记录tū pò jì lù

    break a record

  • 突破难关tū pò nán guān

    overcome a difficult obstacle

Similar words

打破dǎ pò: Break an established state, record, or custom to create a new one.
克服kè fú: Overcome a difficulty or inner obstacle through effort so progress can continue normally.
超过chāo guò: Go beyond a set range, amount, degree, or other standard.

Definition in Chinese

越过原有的限制或记录，达到新的程度或阶段。yuè guò yuán yǒu de xiàn zhì huò jì lù dá dào xīn de chéng dù huò jiē duàn

Word origin

突破 (tūpò, "break through") joins 突 (tū, "thrust") and 破 (pò, "break") and extends the image of forcing through a barrier to limits and records.

Usage tips

  • English speakers often reserve "break through" for obstacles, while this verb also fits measurable gains in ability and performance.

Other meanings

  • exceedverb

Opposites

Related words

  • 突破性tū pò xìnggroundbreaking qualitynoun
  • 突破口tū pò kǒubreakthroughnoun
  • 突破点tū pò diǎnbreakthrough pointnoun

Word lists with this word