狗吃屎 (gǒu chī shǐ) — (vulgar slang idiom) to fall flat on one's face…

Definition

Vulgar, jokey idiom for falling flat on your face — used to mock a clumsy tumble, not for a serious injury. Colloquial only; avoid in formal writing.

idiom

(vulgar slang idiom) to fall flat on one's faceto land face-first

，狗吃屎。
Tā bù xiǎo xīn bàn le yí xià, shuāi le gè gǒu chī shǐ.
He accidentally tripped and fell flat on his face.
狗吃屎，。
Nà ge xiǎo chǒu jiǎ zhuāng shuāi le yí gè gǒu chī shǐ, dòu dé dà jiā hā hā dà xiào.
That clown pretended to fall face-first, making everyone laugh out loud.
，狗吃屎。
Nǐ bié pǎo nà me kuài, xiǎo xīn shuāi gè gǒu chī shǐ.
Don't run so fast — be careful you don't fall flat on your face.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

句

句jù狗gǒu

Same sound today

狗 combines 犬, meaning dog, with 句, which gives the sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

口乞吃

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

乞

乞qǐ吃chī

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

吃 combines 口 (mouth) with 乞, which gives the sound; it originally wrote a word meaning to stutter.

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

尸米屎

屎 pairs 尸 (body) with 米, which came from dots showing faeces coming out of the body.