How to Write 颠 (diān) — Meaning “Top; to jolt; to fall”

Imagine a person with a 'true' (真) head (页) who is so top-heavy that they fall head over heels. The visual of a person toppling over while their head stays 'true' can help you recall both the meaning and the components.

When writing 颠, pay attention to the left part 真: it has 10 strokes including a small horizontal inside the '目' shape and two bottom strokes forming an '八'. The right part 页 should be narrower, and a common mistake is making the left part too small or misplacing the bottom strokes of 真.

颠 has the left component 真 (true), while 颗 has 果 (fruit) and 题 has 是 (yes). Visually, the left parts are distinct: 颠's left has a horizontal, vertical, then '目' and '八'; 颗's left is 'field' on top and 'tree' below; 题's left is 'sun' and 'correct'. In meaning, 颠 relates to top/fall, 颗 is a measure word for small objects, and 题 means topic or question.

颠 appears in common words like 颠倒 (to reverse), 颠簸 (to bump or jolt), and 颠覆 (to overthrow). It is often used in formal or literary contexts to describe inversion or instability, such as 颠倒黑白 (to confuse black and white, meaning to twist the facts). The character is also used in reduplicated form 疯疯癫癫 (to be crazy or silly).

Common words containing 颠 include: 颠倒 (diān dǎo) — To turn upside down; to reverse; 颠簸 (diān bǒ) — To bump; to jolt; 颠覆 (diān fù) — To subvert; to overturn.