沦丧 (lún sàng) — to be lost, to be ruined (of morality, culture, spirit, etc.); to decline, to degenerate

Definition

A formal/literary verb meaning to collapse or decay, used for abstract things like morality, culture, or spirit (e.g. 道德沦丧). Stronger and more written than the everyday 失去.

verb
to be lostto be ruined (of morality, culture, spirit, etc.)to declineto degenerate

Examples

  • ，沦丧。
    Zhàn zhēng qī jiān, xǔ duō dì fāng de dào dé lún sàng le.
    During the war, morality in many places collapsed.
  • 沦丧，。
    Rú guǒ xìn yǎng lún sàng, shè huì jiù huì shī qù fāng xiàng.
    If faith is lost, society will lose its direction.
  • 沦丧。
    Tā xiě de wén zhāng pī pàn le dāng dài jīng shén lún sàng de xiàn xiàng.
    The article he wrote criticizes the phenomenon of contemporary spiritual decline.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

沦lúnsink
丧sànglose

沦 and 丧 both express loss or decline, so together they mean morality or spirit is lost.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 淪; 沦 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
侖
侖lún淪lún
Same sound today

The traditional form 淪 has 水 for water and 侖 for the sound lún; the simplified 沦 is a shorthand.

Open 沦 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 喪; 丧 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
㗊㗊㗊many mouths
Sound part声符shēngfú
桑
桑sāng喪sàng
Same sound today

The traditional form 喪 originally paired 桑 (mulberry tree) with 㗊 (many mouths). The simplified 丧 is the modern form, deriving from a form that used 哭 (cry) and 亡 (die).

Open 丧 →

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