天翻地覆

tiānfān-dìfù

idiom #16,120

Meanings

这些年家乡发生了天翻地覆的变化。

Zhèxiē nián jiāxiāng fāshēng le tiānfāndìfù de biànhuà.

Over these years, earth-shattering changes have taken place in my hometown.

孩子们把房间闹得天翻地覆。

Háizi men bǎ fángjiān nào de tiānfāndìfù.

The children made a complete mess of the room.

memory

Picture the sky (天) flipping (翻) and the earth (地) overturning (覆) — total upheaval. Can describe either dramatic positive change or utter chaos.

天 tiān

翻 fān

地 dì

覆 fù