坠入 (zhuì rù) — to fall into, to drop into (literal or figurative)

Definition

Literally 'fall/drop into', but usually used figuratively for sinking into a state — love, despair, sleep, dreams. More literary than 落入 (narrower, 'fall into a trap/battle'), which focuses on physical or negative situations.

verb
to fall intoto drop into (literal or figurative)

Examples

  • 坠入。
    Tā bù xiǎo xīn zhuì rù le hé lǐ.
    He accidentally fell into the river.
  • 坠入。
    Tā men zhuì rù le ài hé.
    They fell in love.
  • 坠入。
    Tā zhuì rù le jué wàng de shēn yuān.
    He fell into the abyss of despair.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

坠zhuìfall
入rùinto

“坠” means fall and “入” means into, so together they describe falling into something.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
队
队duì坠zhuì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

坠 combines 土, an earth-related part, with 队, which gives the sound.

Open 坠 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

入 is drawn as an arrowhead, indicating 'to enter'.

Open 入 →

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