‘倒映’ (dào yìng) is a verb meaning ‘to be reflected upside-down’, especially in still water like lakes, rivers, or ponds. The first character 倒 (dào) means ‘upside-down’ or ‘inverted’, while the second character 映 (yìng) means ‘to reflect’ or ‘to project’. Together, they specifically describe the visual phenomenon where an object appears inverted in a reflective surface — most commonly water, but occasionally glass or polished stone. Unlike the general verb 反映 (fǎnyìng), which can mean ‘to reflect’ metaphorically (e.g., reflecting opinions or reality), 倒映 refers exclusively to literal, optical inversion.

This word is often used in descriptive, literary, or scenic contexts — especially when portraying natural beauty, tranquility, or poetic imagery. It frequently appears in travel writing, poetry, photography captions, and nature documentaries. Because it emphasizes visual fidelity and orientation, it’s rarely used for mirrors (where the image is reversed left-right, not top-bottom) or digital screens. The subject of 倒映 is typically the thing being reflected (e.g., mountains, trees, bridges), and the reflection surface is usually implied or stated with 在…中/里 (e.g., 在湖水中).