颠倒黑白 (diān dǎo hēi bái)

Character breakdown

• 颠 (diān) · 16 strokes

  Phonosemantic compound. 页 represents the meaning and 真 represents the sound. Simplified form of 顛.

• 倒 (dǎo) · 10 strokes

  Phonosemantic compound. 亻 represents the meaning and 到 represents the sound.

• 黑 (Hēi) · 12 strokes

  Pictograph of a person whose face has been tattooed, now written as 墨. In ancient China criminals were punished by having their faces permanently marked. Later writers reanalyzed the character as a ch…

• 白 (Bái) · 5 strokes

  Origin unclear. Possibly depicts a thumb or a person's face.

Usage

他颠倒黑白，把责任都推给了别人。

He twisted the truth and shifted all the blame onto others.

Tā diān dǎo hēi bái, bǎ zé rèn dōu tuī gěi le bié rén.