Definition
落水狗 (lào shuǐ gǒu or là shuǐ gǒu) is a fixed expression from a Chinese proverb meaning "a dog in the water" — a metaphor for someone who has lost power or status and is now vulnerable to attack, often a bad person who is down on their luck. It carries a strong negative connotation and is used to describe villains or corrupt figures who are finally defeated. The phrase is used both literally (a drowning dog) and figuratively (a despised person in trouble). Note that the pinyin may vary: the standard reading is luò shuǐ gǒu, but là shuǐ gǒu is also common in spoken Chinese.
n.
(figurative) a disgraced villaina bad person who is down and out(literal) a drowning dog
Examples
- ，。Dàjiā búyào qù dǎ là, tā yǐjīng gòu cǎn le.Everyone, don't kick him when he's down — he's already miserable enough.
- 落水狗，。Nà ge tān guān xiànzài chéng le là, shéi dōu bú yuànyì bāng tā.That corrupt official has become a drowning dog — nobody is willing to help him.
- ，落水狗。Zài jìngzhēng zhōng shībài hòu, tā jiù xiàng yì zhī là.After losing in the competition, he was like a drowning dog.
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