折

zhé

break off, snap; bend; turn; reduce

Meaning

Physical Actions: Severing or snapping (particularly brittle materials); folding or bending (such as fabric or limbs); turning (a sharp change in direction).
Abstract and Quantitative Extensions: Diminution of strength, health, or spirit; reduction in value or price (more common in later strata); violation of an abstract agreement or promise.

Grammar and usage

Transitive: Standard use with a direct object.
Intransitive/Resultative: Describes the state of being broken or the act of turning.
Directional: Functions as a marker for movement away from a previous trajectory.

Distinctions

折 vs. 截 (jié): While both involve cutting, 截 emphasizes interception or a clean, cross-sectional cut; 折 retains the sense of an angle, a snap, or a fold.

History and forms

Chronological Shift: In early classical texts, 折 covers both "breaking" and "folding." The character 摺 was developed later to specialize in the sense of folding (e.g., paper).
Variants: U+7FFC, U+62C3, U+6298, and U+647A are orthographic variations; there is no reliable evidence that these variants were used to distinguish different lexical meanings.

Graphical notes

Composition: hand + axe. The form suggests the disruption of a linear shape through the application of force.

Translator notes

"Breaking" and "bending" should be viewed as two results of the same action: the redirection or termination of a straight line. In early strata, do not assume 折 is exclusively destructive; it may indicate a neutral fold.

Decontextualized translator aid. This page describes plausible lexical range; it does not choose what the glyph means in a particular passage.