天翻地覆

sky and the earth turning upside down (idiom); fig. complete confusion / everything turned on its head

day / sky / heaven

to turn over / to flip over / to overturn / to rummage through / to translate / to decode / to double / to climb over or into / to cross

variant of 翻[fan1]

-ly / structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct

earth / ground / field / place / land / CL:片[pian4]

variant of 復|复[fu4] / to reply to a letter

to cover / to overflow / to overturn / to capsize