傾
to overturn; to collapse; to lean; to tend; to incline; to pour out
Closest English meanings
to lean·incline·collapse·to pour
The Calligrapher — Liǔ Gōngquán 柳公权
Tang regular-script master famed for 'bones' of strength; rival to Yan Zhenqing.
Tang calligrapher (778–865), master of regular script — Tang master of bone-strength regular script, paired forever with Yan Zhenqing as 'Yan sinew, Liu bone'. Tang dynasty
Cultural Story
Zhuge Liang, in his "Memorial Before Departing," recalls "afterward I met with 倾覆" — the defeat at Changban where he took up duty in a broken army. The word 倾覆 was the overturning of a state, the moment a house of order fell. For the minister it named the ruin he was summoned to mend, the very edge of the realm's collapse.
Common words & phrases
- 傾斜 to tilt · to lean · inclined
- 傾向 tendency · inclination · to lean
- 傾听 to listen attentively · to incline one's ear
- 傾覆 to overturn · to overthrow · to capsize
- 傾倒 to admire · to fall for · to pour out
Read the story behind the character
The tower 傾斜 after the quake and engineers 傾听 the sensors for a groan. A voter shows a clear 傾向 in the poll, and fans 傾倒 as the team lifts the cup. The word still means tipping — a lean, a leaning will, a fall — the swerve of things from upright, watched now by instruments and by crowds.
Own this character
Purchase delivers the original SVG of this glyph, brushed by Liǔ Gōngquán 柳公权, ready to place on skin, paper, or screen.