偾 (fèn) · (classical) to fall prostrate; to topple over

Meanings

1 (classical) to fall prostrate; to topple over
2 (classical) to ruin; to bring to defeat

Characters

偾

fèn

to topple; to ruin

Examples

HSK 7-9

使军队覆灭就是偾的古义。

Shǐ jūnduì fùmiè jiùshì fèn de gǔyì.

A general who brings his army to ruin is the classical sense of this character.

Tips

history

偾 is not an independent word in modern Chinese. In classical texts it means to fall flat or to bring something to ruin (a defeated general was a 偾 of his army). It pairs the person radical 亻 with the phonetic 贲, the same phonetic in 喷 and 愤.

register

Classical and literary only; encountered in old prose and etymology notes, not in modern speech, where 失败 or 毁坏 are used.