泛滥成灾 (fàn làn chéng zāi) — to run rampant; to become a serious problem due to excessive spread or quantity; to flood disastrously (literal or figurative)
Definition
An idiom meaning a problem has spread so far it has itself become a disaster — used figuratively for corruption, rumors, fake goods, etc. The first half 泛滥 pictures uncontrolled spread (like floodwater); 成灾 stresses the disastrous result.
idiom
to run rampantto become a serious problem due to excessive spread or quantityto flood disastrously (literal or figurative)
Examples
- 泛滥成灾，。Jiǎ huò zài shì chǎng shàng fàn làn chéng zāi, xiāo fèi zhě hěn nán fēn biàn zhēn wěi.Counterfeit goods are flooding the market, making it hard for consumers to tell real from fake.
- 泛滥成灾，。Wǎng luò yáo yán fàn làn chéng zāi, duì shè huì wěn dìng zào chéng le hěn dà wēi xié.Online rumors are running rampant, posing a serious threat to social stability.
- ，泛滥成灾。Rú guǒ hé shuǐ jì xù shàng zhǎng, xià yóu dì qū jiù huì fàn làn chéng zāi.If the river keeps rising, the downstream areas will be flooded disastrously.
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