落井下石 (luò jǐng xià shí) — to kick someone when they are down; to take advantage of someone's misfortune to attack them
Definition
A chengyu meaning 'to kick someone when they're down' — to attack or worsen matters for a person already in trouble. Used to condemn deliberate cruelty rather than describe a single act.
verb
to kick someone when they are downto take advantage of someone's misfortune to attack them
Examples
- ，落井下石，。Dà jiā dōu bāng tā, nǐ què luò jǐng xià shí, tài bú gòu yì si le.Everyone is helping him, but you're kicking him when he's down — that's really not cool.
- 落井下石，。Zài bié rén kùn nan de shí hou luò jǐng xià shí, zhè zhǒng xíng wéi hěn bú dào dé.Attacking others when they're in trouble is very unethical behavior.
- ，落井下石，。Tā bú dàn bù tóng qíng wǒ, fǎn ér luò jǐng xià shí, ràng wǒ hěn shī wàng.Not only did he not sympathize with me, but he kicked me when I was down — I was very disappointed.
Origin
Compound word构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate
Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.
落井 shows someone falling into a well, and 下石 adds stones being dropped on them.
Appears in
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