天崩地裂

tiānbēng-dìliè

idiom

Meanings

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

Characters

Examples

HSK 5

地震时，他感觉天崩地裂一般。

Dìzhèn shí, tā gǎnjué tiānbēngdìliè yìbān.

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

HSK 7-9

听到这个噩耗，她觉得天崩地裂。

Tīngdào zhège èhào, tā juéde tiānbēngdìliè.

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