Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Levelled to/with the ground; razed; flattened: Describes a state where buildings, structures, or terrain have been completely destroyed or flattened, making them level with the surrounding ground.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Thành phố bị san bằng địa sau trận động đất. (The city was levelled to the ground after the earthquake.)
  • Căn cứ quân sự đã bị phá hủy bằng địa. (The military base was razed.)

Advanced Usage

• "bị...bằng địa": A common passive construction meaning "to be levelled/razed by...".
  • Ngôi làng bị tấn công bằng địa. (The village was attacked and levelled.)
• Used almost exclusively to describe the result of severe destructive forces like bombing, shelling, or natural disasters.

Variants and Related Words

• San bằng (verb): To level, to raze. Often used in conjunction with or as a synonym for the result described by "bằng địa".
  • Máy ủi san bằng tòa nhà cũ. (The bulldozer razed the old building.)
• Phá hủy hoàn toàn (verb phrase): To destroy completely.
• Bình địa (noun): Literally "level ground"; used in contexts like "thảm họa bình địa" (scorched-earth disaster).

Synonyms

• Bị san phẳng: To be flattened.
• Bị hủy diệt hoàn toàn: To be completely obliterated.
• Bị xóa sổ: To be wiped out (often used figuratively but can be literal).

Notes on Usage

• Tone and Context: The term carries a very strong, severe, and often tragic connotation. It is not used for minor damage but for total destruction.
• Grammar: Primarily functions as an adjective following the verb "bị" (to be [in a negative sense]) or "được" (to be [in a neutral/positive sense], though rare in this context) to describe the state of the subject.
• Field: Common in historical, military, and disaster reporting contexts.

1. Levelled to (with) the ground; razed
   • Bị ném bom bằng địa
     Levelled with the ground by bombing