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一落千丈 (yí luò qiān zhàng) — (idiom) to suffer a steep decline; to hit rock bottom

Definition

A vivid chengyu for a sudden, steep drop (reputation, mood, performance, sales) — much stronger and more dramatic than just 下降 or 减少.

idiom
to suffer a steep declineto hit rock bottom

Examples

  • 一落千丈。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī de yè jì zuì jìn yí luò qiān zhàng.
    This company's performance has plummeted recently.
  • ，一落千丈。
    Zì cóng nà cì chǒu wén zhī hòu, tā de shēng yù yí luò qiān zhàng.
    His reputation has taken a disastrous nosedive since that scandal.
  • ，一落千丈。
    Tīng dào zhè ge xiāo xi, wǒ de xīn qíng yí luò qiān zhàng.
    Upon hearing the news, my mood hit rock bottom.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
一一yīone, signifying a number
Sound part声符shēngfú
人
人rén千qiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

千 pairs 人, whose sound was similar, with 一, a number stroke; the extra line was explained as extension, and a thousand is a number reached by extending counting.

Open 千 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

丈 is made from 十 (ten) and 又 (hand), and it is explained as a length of ten chi.

Open 丈 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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