没落 (mò luò) — to decline (of a family, dynasty, culture, etc.… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

没落 (mòluò) means a family, dynasty, or culture has fallen from past glory. Stronger and more literary than 衰退 (mainly physical/economic decline); close in tone to 衰落, but 衰落 also covers natural decay.

verb

to decline (of a family, dynasty, culture, etc.)to wane

Examples

没落。
Zhè ge céng jīng huī huáng de jiā zú zài jìn dài zhú jiàn mò luò le.
This once glorious family gradually declined in modern times.
，没落。
Suí zhe gōng yè gé mìng xīng qǐ, yì xiē chuán tǒng shǒu gōng yì kāi shǐ mò luò.
With the rise of the Industrial Revolution, some traditional crafts began to wane.
没落。
Yí gè dì guó de mò luò wǎng wǎng yuán yú nèi bù de fǔ bài.
The decline of an empire often stems from internal corruption.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

没 and 落 both describe sinking and falling, so together they mean to decline.

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 沒; 没 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

水水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

𠬛

𠬛𠬛沒mò

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 沒 pairs 水 (water) with 𠬛 as a sound part; this note is about 沒, not the simplified 没.

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

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Change & Process

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.