Word

颠覆 (diān fù) — Chinese word meaning

HSK 7

Meaning of 颠覆

动 dòng verb

subvert

这项新技术可能会颠覆整个行业。

zhè xiàng xīn jì shù kě néng huì diān fù zhěng gè háng yè

This new technology might subvert the entire industry.

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Word breakdown

颠 diān — overturn, topple

1 颠倒 diān dǎo — to reverse, to invert, to turn upside down, to confuse HSK 7
- 颠 top, summit (contributes the sense of overturning from top to bottom)
- 倒 to fall, to reverse (contributes the sense of inversion and falling over)
Example

他把因果关系颠倒了。

tā bǎ yīn guǒ guān xì diān dǎo le

He reversed cause and effect.
2 颠倒黑白 diān dǎo hēi bái — to confuse right and wrong; to distort facts HSK 7
- 颠 overturn, topple
- 倒 reverse, invert
- 黑 black (representing wrong/evil)
- 白 white (representing right/good)
Example

媒体不应该颠倒黑白误导公众。

méi tǐ bù yīng gāi diān dǎo hēi bái wù dǎo gōng zhòng

The media should not distort facts and mislead the public.
3 颠簸 diān bǒ — to bump along, to jolt HSK 7
- 颠 to topple, to bump up and down
- 簸 to toss, to shake
Example

经过几小时的颠簸，我们终于到达了目的地。

jīng guò jǐ xiǎo shí de diān bǒ wǒ men zhōng yú dào dá le mù dì dì

After several hours of bumpy travel, we finally reached our destination.

覆 fù — cover over, overturn

1 覆盖 fù gài — to cover HSK 6
- 覆 to overturn, to cover over
- 盖 lid, cover
Example

雪覆盖了整个城市。

xuě fù gài le zhěng gè chéng shì

Snow covered the entire city.
2 翻天覆地 fān tiān fù dì — earth-shattering HSK 7
- 翻 to turn over, to flip
- 天 heaven, sky
- 覆 to overturn, to cover
- 地 earth, ground
Example

改革开放给中国带来了翻天覆地的变化。

gǎi gé kāi fàng gěi Zhōng guó dài lái le fān tiān fù dì de biàn huà

Reform and opening-up brought earth-shattering changes to China.
3 翻来覆去 fān lái fù qù — toss and turn; over and over again; repeatedly HSK 7
- 翻 turn over, flip
- 来 indicates movement in one direction
- 覆 overturn, turn back
- 去 indicates movement in the opposite direction
Example

他昨晚翻来覆去睡不着觉。

tā zuó wǎn fān lái fù qù shuì bu zháo jiào

He tossed and turned all night, unable to fall asleep.

Structure & writing

1 颠 diān — top of something tall and upright

颠 is a component in 1 characters

HSK 7

巅 diān mountain peak; summit

consists of

1.1 真 zhēn — real; genuine (corresponding to objective facts)

真 is a component in 4 characters

HSK 4

填 tián to fill up or level a hollow place

HSK 5

慎 shèn careful, cautious

HSK 6

镇 zhèn to suppress; to control

HSK 7

颠 diān top of something tall and upright

1.2 页 yè — page, sheet (of a book, painting, paper, etc.)

页 is a component in 26 characters

HSK 1

题 tí title; heading of a poem, essay, or speech

HSK 2

颜 yán facial expression; countenance

HSK 3

须 xū must; necessary (auxiliary verb) 顾 gù to turn and look; to look at

HSK 4

烦 fán vexed, irritated 硕 shuò large; tall and big 项 xiàng (lit.) back of the neck/nape 顺 shùn facing the same direction; opposite of 逆顿 dùn to pause briefly

Show more HSK 4 characters (+2)

预 yù in advance; beforehand 频 pín repeatedly; frequently; many times in succession

HSK 5

领 lǐng neck; throat 颗 kē measure word for small, round or granular objects

HSK 6

顶 dǐng the top or highest part of a person or object 顽 wán stupid; ignorant 颖 yǐng awn-bearing husk of certain grasses (e.g. rice, wheat) 额 é forehead (of a person or animal)

HSK 7

嚣 xiāo noisy; clamorous 顷 qǐng unit of area equal to 100 亩 (approx. 6.6667 hectares) 颁 bān to issue; to promulgate 颂 sòng to praise, to extol someone's virtues 颇 pō (lit.) biased; not upright

Show more HSK 7 characters (+4)

颊 jiá cheek; the part of the face below the cheekbone 颓 tuí to collapse, to crumble 颠 diān top of something tall and upright 颤 chàn to tremble; to shiver

Stroke order

2 覆 fù — to cover, to conceal

覆 is not used as a component in any other character.

consists of

2.1 覀 xī — cover/top radical, seen above characters

覀 is a component in 5 characters

HSK 1

要 yào important; significant

HSK 2

票 piào a ticket, note, or slip used as a voucher or credential

HSK 6

覆 fù to cover, to conceal

HSK 7

潭 tán deep pool; deep pit; by extension: deep 贾 jiǎ a surname

2.2 復 fù — to return, go back, restore

復 is a component in 2 characters

HSK 6

履 lǚ shoe; footwear 覆 fù to cover, to conceal

Stroke order