How to Say "Earthquake" in Chinese

地震

dìzhèn

The English word 'earthquake' is translated into Chinese as 地震 (dìzhèn). If unsure, use 地震. Wiktionary also lists 地動 / 地动 (dìdòng).

Meaning: shaking of the surface of a planet (noun)

Ways to say it

“earthquake” in Chinese
Chinese	Romanization (Wiktionary)	Note
地震	dìzhèn
地動 / 地动	dìdòng	dialectal, literary

The term refers to the shaking of the surface of a planet. If you want to specify a strong earthquake, you can use the phrase 強烈地震 (qiángliè dìzhèn).

The word 地震 is composed of 地 (dì), meaning 'earth' or 'ground' and 震 (zhèn), meaning 'shake' or 'shock'.

While 地震 is the standard term, 地動 is a literary and dialectal alternative.

The form 地動 is used in specific dialects.

The romanization is dìzhèn.

Ancient Chinese seismology led to the invention of the first earthquake detector by Zhang Heng in 132 AD, which used a mechanism to drop a ball from a dragon's mouth to indicate the direction of 地震.
In Chinese culture, the word 震 (zhèn) also refers to the East in the Bagua system of ancient cosmology, linking the direction of the rising sun to the concept of shaking and movement.
The character 震 (zhèn) is also the root of the word for 'electric shock', meaning the physical sensation of being shaken or jolted is conceptually shared between geological and electrical events.

地震带来了灾难。
The earthquake brought about disaster.
The sentence with 地震 is useful for describing how an earthquake brings about disaster.
Tatoeba #13894739 by jan_OkulaJu, translation #45126 by rul
若有大地震，房屋会倒塌呀！
If there's a big earthquake, the house could really collapse!
The sentence with 地震 is useful for discussing the potential collapse of houses during a big earthquake.
Tatoeba #425141 by GlossaMatik, translation #425138 by FeuDRenais
在建筑物里的所有人都感觉到了地震。
Everybody in the building felt the earthquake.
The sentence with 地震 is useful for describing how people inside a building felt the earthquake.
Tatoeba #8654630 by crescat, translation #953258 by CK
當地出現了一次強烈的地震。
A strong earthquake occurred in the area.
30 more sentences on Tatoeba

Two friends are talking about a recent news report.

梓涵 Zihan

昨晚发生了地震吗？
Zuówǎn fāshēngle dìzhèn ma?
Did an earthquake happen last night?
俊杰 Junjie

是的，我也感觉到了。
Shì de, wǒ yě gǎnjué dào le.
Yes, I felt it too.
梓涵 Zihan

真吓人，还好没受损。
Zhēn xiàrén, háihǎo méi shòusǔn.
That was scary, luckily there was no damage.
俊杰 Junjie

没错，我们要注意安全。
Méicuò, wǒmen yào zhùyì ānquán.
That's right, we need to stay safe.

Sources

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