天崩地裂

tiānbēngdìliè

idiom

Meanings

1 sky collapses and earth splits
2 catastrophic upheaval
3 a shattering shock or disaster

Characters

Examples

地震时，他感觉天崩地裂一般。

Dìzhèn shí, tā gǎnjué tiān bēng dì liè yìbān.

During the earthquake he felt as if the sky was collapsing and the earth splitting.

听到这个噩耗，她觉得天崩地裂。

Tīngdào zhège èhào, tā juéde tiān bēng dì liè.

Hearing the terrible news, she felt her whole world shatter.

Tips

history

From 《战国策·赵策三》: 天崩地坼，天子下席 — used for the death of a monarch, so cosmically significant that 'heaven falls and earth splits'. Later extended to any catastrophic event.

Stroke Order

天 tiān

崩 bēng

地 dì

裂 liè