落伍 (luò wǔ) — to be outdated; to fall behind the times; to dr… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literally 'to drop out of the ranks': to fall behind the times or become outdated (ideas, designs, methods). Stronger than simply being 'old' — it implies not keeping up with progress.

verb

to be outdatedto fall behind the timesto drop outto straggle behind

Examples

落伍。
Zhè zhǒng shè jì yǐ jīng luò wǔ le.
This design is already outdated.
。
Tā yīn wèi gēn bú shàng shí dài ér luò le wǔ.
He fell behind because he couldn't keep up with the times.
落伍，。
Nǐ de guān niàn tài luò wǔ, xū yào gēng xīn le.
Your ideas are too backward; you need to update them.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

落 means fall or drop and 伍 means the ranks, so the image is dropping out of the ranks and falling behind.

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.

艹洛落

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎo

Sound part声符shēngfú

洛

洛luò落luò

Same sound today

落 pairs 艹 with 洛; 洛 gives the sound, and 艹 relates to the meaning.

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

亻五伍

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rén

Sound part声符shēngfú

五

五wǔ伍wǔ

Same sound today

伍 is written with 亻, a person, and 五, which gives the sound.

Appears in

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