diān

蹎

Character · VerbTraditional顛

fall; tumble (literary)

Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma

Meanings

1 sense · 3 examples
1.

verb

to fall down; to tumble; to topple

literary

Literary/archaic usage. In modern Chinese, this meaning is mostly preserved in set phrases and idioms (e.g., 颠覆, 颠倒). The single-character usage is rare in spoken language.

Lǎo老
mǎ马
shī失
tí蹄
 ，
xiǎn险
xiē些
diān颠
pū仆
yú于
dì地
 。

The old horse lost its footing and nearly tumbled to the ground.

Gāo高
shān山
zhī之
diān巅
 ，
yī一
shī失
zú足
zé则
diān颠
zhuì坠
shēn深
yuān渊
 。

At the peak of the high mountain, one false step and you will plunge into the abyss.

Show 1 more example
diān颠
fù覆

to overturn; to subvert (figurative usage of the 'fall/tumble' meaning)