天旋地转

天旋地轉

tiānxuándìzhuàn

idiom

Meanings

1 the sky spins and the earth turns
2 to feel dizzy; (fig.) a tumultuous upheaval

Characters

to revolve; to spin

to turn; to rotate

Examples

他一站起来就觉得天旋地转。

Tā yī zhàn qǐlái jiù juéde tiānxuándìzhuàn.

The moment he stood up he felt the room spinning.

听到这个消息，她只觉得天旋地转。

Tīngdào zhège xiāoxi, tā zhǐ juéde tiānxuándìzhuàn.

On hearing the news, she felt as if the world was spinning around her.

这场战争让整个国家天旋地转。

Zhè chǎng zhànzhēng ràng zhěnggè guójiā tiānxuándìzhuàn.

This war turned the whole country upside down.

Tips

history

From Bai Juyi's Tang-dynasty poem 《长恨歌》: '天旋地转回龙驭' — 'when heaven and earth turned and the emperor's chariot returned.' Originally describing the tumultuous restoration of Tang power after the An Lushan rebellion; later generalized to vertigo and upheaval.

usage

Two live meanings: (1) physical dizziness — 觉得 / 感到天旋地转; (2) world-turned-upside-down shock at news or events. Context disambiguates.

Stroke Order

天 tiān

旋 xuán

地 dì

转 zhuǎn