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落水狗 (luò shuǐ gǒu) — (figurative) a disgraced villain; a bad person who is down and out; (literal) a drowning dog

Definition

Literally 'a drowning dog,' used figuratively for a disgraced villain who is down and out — someone it is easy (and tempting) to attack further.

noun
(figurative) a disgraced villaina bad person who is down and out(literal) a drowning dog
Measure word · 只

Examples

  • ，。
    Dà jiā bú yào qù dǎ luò shuǐ gǒu, tā yǐ jīng gòu cǎn le.
    Everyone, don't kick him when he's down — he's already miserable enough.
  • 落水狗，。
    Nà ge tān guān xiàn zài chéng le luò shuǐ gǒu, shuí dōu bú yuàn yì bāng tā.
    That corrupt official has become a drowning dog — nobody is willing to help him.
  • ，落水狗。
    Zài jìng zhēng zhōng shī bài hòu, tā jiù xiàng yì zhī luò shuǐ gǒu.
    After losing in the competition, he was like a drowning dog.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

落水falling into water
落luòfall水shuǐwater
动宾Verb + object
狗gǒudog

落水 describes falling into water and 狗 a dog, together a dog fallen in water, used for a down-and-out bad person.

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
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 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

Open 水 →

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
犬犬quǎndog
Sound part声符shēngfú
句
句jù狗gǒu
Same sound today

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

Open 狗 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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