颠 meaning and stroke order
Peak, summit, top; to upset
How to write 颠, stroke by stroke
16 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 颠
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- top (of the head)
- apex
- to fall forwards
- inverted
- to jolt
How 颠 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Head.
页 gives the meaning and 真 hints at the sound.
Radical: 页 (page), shared by 39 characters on this site.
How to remember 颠
The right side 页 means head, so 颠 is about the top of the head. The left side 真 (zhēn) gives the sound, and you can picture a head tipping over until it is upside down.
颠 rarely appears alone in modern Chinese. It shows up in words about turning over or shaking, such as 颠倒 (diāndǎo), 颠覆 (diānfù) and 颠簸 (diānbǒ). Example: 路不好，车很颠簸。(Lù bù hǎo, chē hěn diānbǒ.) The road is bad, so the car bumps around a lot.
Common mistake: Learners often write the left part as 直 (zhí) because it looks so similar to 真. Remember that 真 has the two extra dots at the bottom. Also keep the first tone: diān, not diǎn like 点.
Common words with 颠
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 颠覆 | diānfù | to topple (i.e. knock over); to capsize | HSK 7-9 |
| 颠倒 | diāndǎo | to turn upside down; to reverse | HSK 7-9 |
| 颠簸 | diānbǒ | to be jolted around (car on a bumpy road, boat on a rough sea, aircraft experiencing turbu | |
| 神魂颠倒 | shénhúndiāndǎo | lit. spirit and soul upside down (idiom); infatuated and head over heels in love; fascinat |
颠 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 颠
Learning 颠 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 颠
How many strokes are in 颠?
颠 is written with 16 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 颠 mean?
颠 (diān) means peak, summit, top; to upset. A common word with it is 颠覆 (diānfù), meaning "to topple (i.e. knock over); to capsize".
How do you pronounce 颠?
颠 is pronounced diān, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 颠?
The radical of 颠 is 页, which carries the idea of "page". Dictionaries list 颠 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 颠?
The traditional form of 颠 is 顛. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 颠 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 颠 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 颠 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 颠倒 and 颠覆?
颠倒 (diāndǎo) means to turn something upside down or reverse the order, like 把顺序颠倒了 (reversed the order). 颠覆 (diānfù) means to overturn or topple, and it is often used for governments, ideas or traditions.
How is 颠 related to 癫 (diān)?
They share the same sound and phonetic part. 癫 adds the sickness radical 疒 and means mad or insane, as in 疯癫 (fēngdiān). 颠 itself is about tipping, jolting or turning over.