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Change log entry 73056
Processed by: richwarm (2021-06-19 06:42:46 GMT)
Comment: << review queue entry 68622 - submitted by 'sl89' >>
Changing:
* 残垣断壁
* 颓垣断壁
* 残垣败壁

Adding:
* 断壁残垣
* 断壁颓垣
* 断垣残壁

All are variants of the same expression. Dictionaries vary over which formulation they prefer, so I think it's better to define all of them.

I don't suggest retaining the original definition because: 1) I can't justify translating 垣 as fences; 垣 is the city wall, while 壁 is the wall of a building, but both are walls. 2) "dilapidated" generally implies neglect, while 残垣断壁 generally refers to the result of active destruction. 3) These expressions can (and generally do) refer to ruins more generally, literally and figuratively. If I were feeling poetic I'd say it evokes the image of a city destroyed, reduced to wreckage, where only broken walls remain standing.


※ 断壁残垣
【Wenlin】
f[ixed].e[xpression]. utter dilapidation; ruins of buildings

【LAC】
残缺不全的墙壁。形容遭受灾难后的破败景象。也作「残垣断壁」。
| 灾区现场,只见~,令人怵目惊心
| 这栋大楼经过地震的摧残,如今只剩下~,不禁令人唏嘘。

【MoE】
破敗倒塌的牆壁。形容景象荒涼。如:「經過無情戰火的洗禮之後,昔日繁華的城市如今只剩斷壁殘垣的淒涼景象。」

【规范词典】
残垣断壁。

【现代汉语大词典】
见“断壁颓垣”。

※ 残垣断壁
【Wenlin】
f.e. (a desolate scene of) broken walls; debris

【Pleco】
dilapidated walls—desolate scene

【LAC】
残缺不全的墙壁。形容遭受灾难后的破败景象。也作「断壁残垣」。
| 灾区现场,只见~,令人怵目惊心。

【规范词典】
残破倒塌的墙壁。形容房舍残破的凄凉景象。

※ 断壁颓垣
【Wenlin】
f[ixed].e[xpression]. utter dilapidation; ruins of buildings

【Pleco】
IDIOM dilapidated walls—desolate scene

【LAC】
残缺不全的墙壁。形容遭受灾难后的破败景象。也作「颓垣断壁」。
| 经过地震的摧残,只见~,令人怵目惊心。

【MoE】
倒塌殘存的牆壁。形容破敗荒涼的景象。
| 《二十年目睹之怪現狀.第一○八回》:「抬頭一看,只見斷壁頹垣,荒涼滿目,看那光景是被火燒的。」

【现代汉语大词典】
倒塌了的墙壁。形容残破的景象。
| 京剧《沙家浜》:「敌人‘扫荡’三天整, 断壁颓垣留血痕。」
也作“断壁残垣”。
| 《新民晚报》1987.2.8:「几年后, 秦始皇驾崩, 秦二世登极。朱贤始得返回家乡。可家里人不见, 唯剩一片断壁残垣。」

※ 颓垣断壁
【Wenlin】
f.e. crumbling walls and dilapidated houses

【Pleco】
dilapidated walls—desolate scene

【LAC】
残缺不全的墙壁。形容遭受灾难后的破败景象。也作「断壁颓垣」。
| 经过地震的摧残,只见~,令人怵目惊心。

【规范词典】
倒塌、残破的墙壁。形容荒凉破败的景象。
(也说断壁颓垣。)

【现代汉语大词典】
犹断垣残壁。如:由于战火的破坏, 原本一个相当富庶的城镇变成了颓垣断壁的废墟。

※ 断垣残壁
【Wenlin】
f[ixed].e[xpression].
① broken walls; debris
② a desolate scene

【Pleco】
IDIOM dilapidated walls—desolate scene

【LAC】
残缺不全的墙壁。形容遭受灾难后的破败景象。
| 昔日繁华的商业街,一场大火烧得只剩下~,令人目不忍睹。

【MoE】
毀壞倒塌的牆。形容建築物倒塌殘破的景象。如:「這古屋已幾十年沒整修,如今只剩斷垣殘壁,早已不能住人。」

【现代汉语大词典】
倒塌了的墙壁。形容残破的景象。
| 徐迟《火中的凤凰》:「灰红的火焰渐渐熄灭, 留下一片瓦砾场, 断垣残壁。」

※ 残垣败壁
【Wenlin】
f.e. (a desolate scene of) broken walls; debris

【MoE】
坍塌毀壞的牆壁。形容蕭條荒蕪。如:「地震過後,只見到處都是殘垣敗壁的景象。」



在古城里面你可以看到世界上一些最美丽建筑的残垣断壁。
On the Acropolis itself you could see the ruins of some of the most beautiful buildings in the world

那一天,布什正在视察现场的残垣断壁(也就是后来人所共知的“废墟中心”)时,有人递给他一个手提式扩音器。
That day, Bush, surveying the wreckage at what would soon be known as Ground Zero, was handed a bullhorn

叛军纷纷越过残垣断壁,很快占领了这座城市。
The rebels poured over the broken walls, and soon conquered the city.

那次地震过后, 全城到处是颓垣断壁.
An earthquake left the whole town in ruins.

爱情是万物的春天,使一切都散发着希望的芬芳,哪怕是身边的断壁残垣
Love is a spring time to plant that perfumes everything with hope, even the ruins to which it clings.

但是,那断壁颓垣仍然存在,敌人就在附近暗中移动,试图再次获得难忘的胜利
But there is still the ruined wall, and near it the stealthy tread of the foe that would win over again his unforgotten triumph. [The Scarlet Letter]

房子盖得都像古罗马式的别墅:前面是大理石砌成的大门廊,里面是有拱顶的大屋子,这种屋子大部成了断垣残壁,或成了离群羔羊的安身之所。
Houses built like ancient Roman villas, with huge marble portals and great vaulted rooms, falling into ruins or inhabited by stray sheep.
--------------------------------

Editor: By combining 2-character elements such as the following
残垣
断壁
颓垣
败壁
断垣
残壁
瓦礫
断瓦
破壁
(etc)
you can create dozens of these 4-character expressions.

Many of the following examples have Google results comparable to those of the six expressions in this submission.
残壁断垣
殘垣瓦礫
殘垣遺跡
洋樓殘垣
殘垣廢墟
败壁残垣
断瓦残垣
残垣破壁
颓垣残壁
断瓦颓垣
斷井頹垣
(etc)

The most common one used in TP articles seems to be 断垣残壁.
See some examples below.

颱風雖然已經過了半年,卻依然是斷垣殘壁、
Although the typhoon hit a full six months ago, there is still extensive damage all around,

車子開在尼加拉瓜首都馬納瓜最繁榮的市街上,除了一棟被列為危樓的十八層大樓,再無其他高樓。偶爾可見的,反倒是大地震之後,加上多年內戰下,等待重建的斷垣殘壁。
As the car drives down the most prosperous boulevard in Nicaragua's capital Managua, the only tall building that can be seen is a single skyscraper 18 storeys tall, which has been listed as a dangerous structure. Occasionally, one can see broken, flattened walls that, after a massive earthquake and many years of civil war, have fallen over and are waiting to be rebuilt.

在大里市,有多棟十餘層高樓應聲而倒,現場斷垣殘壁,民眾哀嚎聲四起。
In the city of Tali, several buildings over ten stories tall have collapsed [in the earthquake], and survivors wail inconsolably amidst the rubble.

在斷垣殘壁中,在幾成焦土的瓦礫堆中,還有許多生 死未明民眾在努力掙扎等待救援,
many people remain trapped under the rubble, and it is unknown whether any of them remain alive at this point.

小西門兩側的斷垣殘壁是三級古蹟,鄰近羅馬式建築的文學院,
On either side of the West Gate are remnants of the old city wall, which are classified as a Grade 3 historical site.

在斷垣殘壁、瓦礫鋼筋中挖出一具具罹難者遺體。
helped recover corpses amid the debris. [Thailand, tsunami]

這個7 年前還是處處斷垣殘壁的沉寂小山村,
Just seven years ago it was a lonely little mountain outpost full of crumbling walls.
Diff:
- 殘垣斷壁 残垣断壁 [can2 yuan2 duan4 bi4] /crumbling fences and dilapidated walls (idiom)/
# + 殘垣斷壁 残垣断壁 [can2 yuan2 duan4 bi4] /(idiom) lit. destroyed buildings and city walls/ruins/
- 頹垣斷壁 颓垣断壁 [tui2 yuan2 duan4 bi4] /crumbling fences and dilapidated walls (idiom)/
# + 頹垣斷壁 颓垣断壁 [tui2 yuan2 duan4 bi4] /(idiom) lit. destroyed buildings and city walls/ruins/
- 殘垣敗壁 残垣败壁 [can2 yuan2 bai4 bi4] /see 殘垣斷壁|残垣断壁[can2 yuan2 duan4 bi4]/
# + 殘垣敗壁 残垣败壁 [can2 yuan2 bai4 bi4] /(idiom) lit. destroyed buildings and city walls/ruins/
# 斷壁殘垣 断壁残垣 [duan4 bi4 can2 yuan2] /(idiom) lit. destroyed buildings and city walls/ruins/
# 斷壁頹垣 断壁颓垣 [duan4 bi4 tui2 yuan2] /(idiom) lit. destroyed buildings and city walls/ruins/
# 斷垣殘壁 断垣残壁 [duan4 yuan2 can2 bi4] /(idiom) lit. destroyed buildings and city walls/ruins/
#
+ 殘垣斷壁 残垣断壁 [can2 yuan2 duan4 bi4] /lit. walls reduced to rubble (idiom)/fig. scene of devastation/ruins/
+ 頹垣斷壁 颓垣断壁 [tui2 yuan2 duan4 bi4] /lit. walls reduced to rubble (idiom)/fig. scene of devastation/ruins/
+ 殘垣敗壁 残垣败壁 [can2 yuan2 bai4 bi4] /lit. walls reduced to rubble (idiom)/fig. scene of devastation/ruins/
+ 斷壁殘垣 断壁残垣 [duan4 bi4 can2 yuan2] /lit. walls reduced to rubble (idiom)/fig. scene of devastation/ruins/
+ 斷壁頹垣 断壁颓垣 [duan4 bi4 tui2 yuan2] /lit. walls reduced to rubble (idiom)/fig. scene of devastation/ruins/
+ 斷垣殘壁 断垣残壁 [duan4 yuan2 can2 bi4] /lit. walls reduced to rubble (idiom)/fig. scene of devastation/ruins/
By MDBG 2024
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