翻天覆地

fān tiān fù dì

HSK 3.0 Level 7 Uncommon

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Definitions

1. sky and the earth turning upside down (idiom); fig. complete confusion
2. everything turned on its head

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Word relationships

Antonyms

1 item

• 井然有序 jǐng rán yǒu xù 井然有序 jǐng rán yǒu xù everything clear and in good order (idiom); neat and tidy In the sense of order versus chaos.: everything clear and in good order (idiom); neat and tidy

Related words

1 item

• 天翻地覆 tiān fān dì fù 天翻地覆 tiān fān dì fù sky and the earth turning upside down (idiom); fig. complete confusion Both describe extreme disorder or radical change, with 天翻地覆 more literary and 翻天覆地 more colloquial.: sky and the earth turning upside down (idiom); fig. complete confusion

Usage notes

Common mistakes

Do not say 翻天覆地的变化; the adjective already carries the meaning of 变化. Instead, use 翻天覆地 alone to mean 'earth-shaking change'.

Example Sentences

1 shown

这个城市发生了 翻天覆地 的变化。

The city has undergone earth-shaking changes.

AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Child Words of 翻天覆地

• 地 地 de: -ly
• 地 地 dì: earth
• 天 天 tiān: day
• 翻 翻 fān: to turn over
• 覆 覆 fù: to cover