TongTong
Sign in

落汤鸡 (luò tāng jī) — a person who looks drenched and bedraggled (like a drowned rat)

Definition

A vivid, colloquial idiom for someone completely soaked and dripping. Used as a noun, often with 变成 or 像…一样.

noun
a person who looks drenched and bedraggled (like a drowned rat)

Examples

  • ，落汤鸡。
    Tā lín le yì chǎng dà yǔ, biàn chéng le luò tāng jī.
    He got caught in a heavy rain and became a drenched mess.
  • ，落汤鸡。
    Gōng sī dǎo bì hòu, tā xiàng luò tāng jī yí yàng chuí tóu sàng qì.
    After the company went bankrupt, he was dejected like a drenched chicken.
  • ，，落汤鸡。
    Tā cóng yóu yǒng chí chū lái, quán shēn shī tòu, huó xiàng yì zhī luò tāng jī.
    He came out of the pool, soaked through, looking exactly like a drenched chicken.

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.

落汤fallen into hot water
落luòfall汤tānghot water
动宾Verb + object
鸡jīchicken

落汤 suggests having fallen into hot water, and 鸡 is a chicken, so it pictures a drenched 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 →

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 湯; 汤 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
昜
昜yáng湯tāng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For 汤, the shape explained is 湯: 氵 is water, and 昜 gives the sound.

Open 汤 →

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 雞; 鸡 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
隹隹zhuīshort-tailed bird
Sound part声符shēngfú
奚
奚xī雞jī
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 雞 pairs 奚, which gives the sound, with 隹, a short-tailed bird. The simplified 鸡 is a later shorthand, and its right side is not the historical 奚.

Open 鸡 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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