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落难 (luò nàn) — to meet with misfortune, to fall into distress

Definition

落难 (luònàn) means to fall into hardship or misfortune — a more literary term than the everyday 倒霉, which just means 'to have bad luck'. It implies a serious, ongoing situation like poverty or disaster.

verb
to meet with misfortuneto fall into distress

Examples

  • 。
    Nà cì hóng shuǐ ràng hěn duō rén luò le nán.
    That flood caused many people to fall into distress.
  • 落难。
    Zhè jiā rén zài wǒ luò nàn shí gěi le wǒ hěn dà bāng zhù.
    This family gave me a lot of help when I met with misfortune.
  • 落难。
    Shuí dōu bù xī wàng zì jǐ luò nàn.
    Nobody wants to fall into distress.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

落luòfall
难nándisaster

落 means fall and 难 means disaster, so the word is to fall into distress.

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
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.

Open 落 →

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 難; 难 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
隹隹zhuībird
Sound part声符shēngfú
暵
暵hàn難nán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional 難 pairs 隹, a bird, with 暵 for sound, and meant a type of bird. It was later borrowed for other meanings; the modern 难 is a shorthand.

Open 难 →
Appears in
Success & Failure

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