fāntiān

翻天

Word · Verb

raise a big ruckus; rebel; overturn the heavens

Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma

Meanings

2 senses · 6 examples
1.

verb

to raise a tremendous ruckus; to be extremely noisy and chaotic

informal

Used to describe a situation where people are arguing, yelling, or causing a huge commotion. Often used in an exaggerated or hyperbolic way.

Hái孩
zi子
men们
zài在
kè客
tīng厅
lǐ里
nào闹
fān翻
le了
tiān天
 。

The children raised a huge ruckus in the living room.

Jiù就
wèi为
zhè这
diǎn点
xiǎo小
shì事
 ,
nǐ你
men们
chǎo吵
fān翻
tiān天
 ,
zhí值
dé得
ma吗
 ?

Is it worth it to argue so fiercely over such a trivial matter?

Show 1 more example
Tā他
yī一
xuān宣
bù布
cí辞
zhí职
 ,
bàn办
gōng公
shì室
lǐ里
jiù就
fān翻
le了
tiān天
 。

The moment he announced his resignation, the office erupted in chaos.

2.

verb

to rebel; to overturn the heavens (a metaphor for rebelling against authority or existing order)

literary

A metaphorical and somewhat literary idiom for describing a major rebellion or uprising that seeks to overthrow the established order. Can be used hyperbolically in modern contexts.

Lì历
shǐ史
shàng上
 ,
bèi被
yā压
pò迫
de的
nóng农
mín民
céng曾
duō多
cì次
shì试
tú图
fān翻
tiān天
 。

In history, oppressed peasants have repeatedly attempted to rebel.

Zhè这
ge个
zǔ组
zhī织
de的
mù目
biāo标
jiù就
shì是
yào要
fān翻
tiān天
 ,
chè彻
dǐ底
gǎi改
biàn变
shè社
huì会
jié结
gòu构
 。

This organization's goal is to overturn the heavens and completely change the social structure.

Show 1 more example
Jǐ几
ge个
xiǎo小
hùn混
hun混
jiù就
xiǎng想
fān翻
tiān天
 ?
Zhēn真
shì是
tài太
bú不
zì自
liàng量
lì力
le了
 。

A few punks think they can start a rebellion? They're really overestimating themselves.