King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Chinese symbol for “topple”

颠覆
diān fù
Traditional: 顛覆
to topple (i.e. knock over); to capsize; fig. to overturn (a regime, by plotting or subversion); to undermine

The closest CC-CEDICT match for topple is 颠覆 (diān fù), defined as: to topple (i.e. knock over); to capsize; fig. to overturn (a regime, by plotting or subversion); to undermine; to subvert.

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Characters and stroke order

颠 diān
peak, summit, top; to upset
radical 181 ⾴ · 16 strokes
覆 fù
to cover; to overturn; to repeat; to reply
radical 146 ⾑ · 18 strokes

Traditional forms

Other Chinese words for “topple”

WordPinyinMeaning
冲垮 (衝垮)chōng kuǎto burst; to break through
倾颓 (傾頹)qīng tuíto collapse; to topple
冧lín(Cantonese) to topple; to collapse
倾翻 (傾翻)qīng fānto overturn; to topple

Related words

Other words that share a character with 颠覆.

WordPinyinMeaning
颠倒 (顛倒)diān dǎoto turn upside down; to reverse
颠簸 (顛簸)diān bǒto be jolted around (car on a bumpy road, boat on a rough sea, aircraft experiencing turbulence); (fig.) to undergo a rough experience
神魂颠倒 (神魂顛倒)shén hún diān dǎolit. spirit and soul upside down (idiom); infatuated and head over heels in love; fascinated
颠倒黑白 (顛倒黑白)diān dǎo hēi báilit. to invert black and white (idiom); to distort the truth deliberately; to misrepresent the facts
颠沛流离 (顛沛流離)diān pèi liú líhomeless and miserable (idiom); to wander about in a desperate plight; to drift
覆盖 (覆蓋)fù gàito cover
回覆huí fùto reply (by letter, email etc); reply; answer
覆盖率 (覆蓋率)fù gài lǜcoverage (proportion covered)

See also: Japanese symbol for “topple”.

Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.

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