diān sān dǎo sìdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
confused / disorderly / incoherent
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-b1524553e940fe55. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

顛三倒四 颠三倒四 [dian1 san1 dao3 si4] /confused/disorderly/incoherent/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 顛三倒四

  • 颠
    diān

    top (of the head) / apex / to fall forwards / inverted / to jolt

  • 三
    sān

    three / 3

    Sān

    surname San

  • 倒
    dǎo

    to fall / to collapse / to lie horizontally / to fail / to go bankrupt / to overthrow / to change (trains or buses) / to move around / to resell at a profit

    dào

    to invert / to place upside down or frontside back / to pour out / to tip out / to dump / inverted / upside down / reversed / to go backward / contrary to what one might expect / but / yet

  • 四
    sì

    four / 4

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.