About
The character 掰 is an ideogram that visually represents its meaning. It combines two 扌(shǒu), meaning hand, with 分 (fēn), meaning to divide, placed between them. This structure directly depicts two hands pulling something apart. The character functions as a verb for the specific action of breaking or snapping off an object with one's hands, such as breaking bread or snapping corn from the cob. It is a precise term for this manual action, distinct from more general verbs for breaking.