堕落 (duò luò) — to degenerate, to become depraved, to fall from… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

堕落 focuses on moral or spiritual decline of a person — losing principles or becoming depraved. 败坏 targets damaging external things (reputation, discipline); 腐败 and 腐朽 stress political/material corruption or physical decay.

verb

to degenerateto become depravedto fall from grace

Examples

，堕落。
Tā cí zhí hòu zhěng tiān wú suǒ shì shì, màn màn duò luò le.
After resigning, he did nothing all day and gradually degenerated.
堕落。
Jīn qián hé quán lì ràng hěn duō rén duò luò.
Money and power cause many people to degenerate.
堕落。
Jīng shén shàng de duò luò bǐ pín qióng gèng kě pà.
Spiritual degeneration is more frightening than poverty.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

Both 堕 and 落 mean falling, so together they describe a fall into corruption.

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 墮; 堕 is its simplified writing.

隋土墮

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

隋

隋suí墮duò

Same sound today

The traditional form 墮 pairs 土 (earth) with 隋 as a sound part; the simplified 堕 is a later shorthand.

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.

Appears in

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