CJK Unified Ideograph-577C

It marks a break that opens, splits, or tears something apart.

The earliest textual lead is the received Yijing phrase 甲坼, where shells or buds open; the sources do not establish a securely dated first manuscript of this exact graph. The Han dictionary Shuowen Jiezi, completed in 100 CE, records the older form 𡍩 as “to crack” and analyzes the character as 土 for earth plus 斥 for sound. As checked in 2026, the CUHK character database lists a Small Seal form but no oracle-bone or bronze form, so the evidence supports evolution, not a named inventor.

Later classical writing extends the same crack-or-opening idea to land, bridges, relationships, and flowers. The core sense stays stable while the neighboring noun supplies the scene.

Should I use 坼 or 拆?

Choose 拆 for ordinary disassembly.

The two forms are historically connected and overlap in older split-or-open senses, but 坼 carries deliberate old-text diction while 拆 is the normal modern verb for taking something apart.

The glyph also crosses writing traditions: Mandarin reads 坼 as chè, while Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Cantonese, and other Sinitic varieties preserve different readings. Shared script does not mean shared pronunciation.