颠倒 (diān dǎo) — to turn upside down, to reverse (order or posit…

Definition

As a verb, 颠倒 means to physically turn something upside down or reverse its order. The second sense — 神志颠倒, mentally confused or deranged — is stronger than 疯狂 ('crazy/wild'), implying a disturbed state of mind rather than wild behavior.

verb

to turn upside downto reverse (order or position)to be confuseddisorientedmentally disturbed (often of one's state of mind)

Examples

颠倒，。
Tā bǎ hào mǎ diān dǎo le, suǒ yǐ dǎ cuò le diàn huà.
He reversed the numbers, so he called the wrong number.
，颠倒。
Tā zuó wǎn méi shuì jiào, xiàn zài jīng shén yǒu diǎn diān dǎo.
He didn't sleep last night, so now he's a bit disoriented.
颠倒，。
Zhè fú huà guà diān dǎo le, yīng gāi fǎn guò lái.
This painting is hung upside down; it should be turned the other way.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

颠diānturn over

倒dǎoupside down

颠 and 倒 both suggest turning over, so 颠倒 means upside down or confused.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 顛; 颠 is its simplified writing.

真頁顛

Meaning part形符xíngfú

頁頁yèhead

Sound part声符shēngfú

真

真zhēn顛diān

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 顛 combines 頁, a head, with 真 as a sound clue; the simplified 颠 is a later shorthand, and its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 颠 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

亻到倒

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rén

Sound part声符shēngfú

到

到dào倒dào

Same sound today

倒 combines 亻 (person) with 到, which gives the sound.

Open 倒 →

Appears in