土崩瓦解

tǔbēngwǎjiě

idiom #27,063

Meanings

1 to collapse completely
2 to fall apart
3 to crumble (like earth and tiles)

Characters

earth; soil; land

to collapse; to crumble; to burst

roof tile; ceramic

to break apart; to solve; to untie

Examples

敌军在强大的攻势下土崩瓦解。

Díjūn zài qiángdà de gōngshì xià tǔbēng wǎjiě.

The enemy forces collapsed completely under the powerful offensive.

他精心建立的商业帝国一夜之间土崩瓦解。

Tā jīngxīn jiànlì de shāngyè dìguó yī yè zhī jiān tǔbēng wǎjiě.

The business empire he had carefully built collapsed overnight.

Tips

memory

Picture earth (土) crumbling (崩) and roof tiles (瓦) shattering (解) — a building in total ruin. This vivid image captures the sense of complete and irreversible collapse.

Stroke Order

土 tǔ

崩 bēng

瓦 wǎ

解 jiě