巅 (diān) · summit, apex, peak

Measure Word

一个巅峰 gè

Meanings

1 summit
2 apex
3 peak
4 pinnacle (of one's career etc)

Characters

巅

diān

summit; peak; pinnacle

Examples

HSK 7-9

他的演唱事业达到了巅峰。

Tā de yǎnchàng shìyè dádào le diānfēng.

His singing career reached its pinnacle.

HSK 7-9

登上山巅，俯瞰整个城市。

Dēngshàng shān diān, fǔkàn zhěnggè chéngshì.

Climbing to the summit, they looked down over the whole city.

Components

radical

山 shān

mountain

Mountain radical sits on top - the literal location of a peak. Stacking 山 above 颠 gives the picture of a mountain's crown, the highest point reachable. Same radical anchors 峰, 岭, 岳, all peak-and-ridge vocabulary.

phonetic

颠 diān

top; summit; to topple

Bottom supplies sound and meaning together: diān to diān (no shift), and 颠 already meant 'top of the head, summit'. 巅 is essentially 颠 + clarifying 山 - written when the peak being described is specifically a mountain rather than a head or a chariot top.