to tear

hand (扌) + sound sī (斯) = to tear with your hands

The hand radical carries the meaning: a tearing action done with the hands. 斯 contributes the sound sī and can otherwise be set aside.

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HandSemantic
A classical word meaning 'this'Phonetic

他把那张纸成了两半。

tā bǎ nà zhāng zhǐ sī chéng le liǎng bàn。

He tore that piece of paper into two halves.

她生气地把他写的信掉了。

tā shēng qì de bǎ tā xiě de xìn sī diào le。

She angrily tore up the letter he had written.

Words with 撕

撕扯

sī chě

to tear apart

撕掉

sī diào

to tear out (and throw away)

撕咬

sī yǎo

to tear at (with the teeth, like one animal attacking another)

撕心裂肺

sī xīn liè fèi

(idiom) in unbearable anguish; agonizing

撕毁

sī huǐ

to tear up

撕烂

sī làn

to tear up

撕破

sī pò

to tear

撕破脸

sī pò liǎn

to have an acrimonious falling-out

撕破脸皮

sī pò liǎn pí

see 撕破臉|撕破脸[si1 po4 lian3]

撕碎

sī suì

to tear to shreds

撕票

sī piào

lit. to tear the ticket

撕裂

sī liè

to tear; to rip apart

More characters with 扌