天旋地轉
简 天旋地转 · 繁 天旋地轉Meanings
- the sky spins, the earth goes round (idiom); giddy with one's head spinning
- fig. huge changes in the world
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Mandarin tones
1–2–4–4 · tian1 xuan2 di4 zhuan4
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
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Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.
天旋地轉 · find source passages ↗ · 天旋地转 · find source passages ↗
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
tin1 syun4 dei6 zyun3
Cantonese word readings for 天旋地轉. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
phrase
- (idiomatic) to feel as if the sky and earth were spinning round; to feel very dizzy
- (idiomatic) the world is turned upside down (as the result of major political turmoil)
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
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