崩 bēng — collapse; fall into ruins
地震时，山上发生了崩塌。Dì zhèn shí, shān shàng fā shēng le bēng tā.During the earthquake, a collapse occurred on the mountain.
Common words: 崩溃 (bēng kuì)、山崩 (shān bēng)、崩决 (bēng jué)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "collapse"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "collapse", including 崩 (bēng), 塌 (tā). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "collapse" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 崩 (bēng), 塌 (tā) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span bēng, tā — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 崩 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 崩 bēngcollapse; fall into ruinsUseful words: 崩溃, 山崩
- 塌 tācollapseUseful words: 倒塌, 一塌糊涂
Common words for these 2 "collapse" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 崩 (bēng) — so "collapse" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
崩溃bēng kuìto collapse; to crumble; to fall apart山崩shān bēnglandslide; landslip崩决bēng juéto burst (of dam); to be breached; to collapse倒塌dǎo tāto collapse (of building); to topple over一塌糊涂yī tā hú tumuddled and completely collapsing (idiom); in an awful condition; complete shambles; a total mess死心塌地sǐ xīn tā dìto be hell-bent on; dead set on sth; unswerving
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 2 ways to say "collapse".
塌 tā — collapse
那座年久失修的旧房子塌了。Nà zuò nián jiǔ shī xiū de jiù fáng zi tā le.That old, long-neglected house collapsed.
Common words: 倒塌 (dǎo tā)、一塌糊涂 (yī tā hú tu)、死心塌地 (sǐ xīn tā dì)
All 2 characters
Open 崩、塌 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.