落井下石

Chinese

		to fall; to drop (behind); leave behind	warn; well	under; next; lower under; next; lower; below; underneath; down(wards); to go down; latter	rock; stone; 10 pecks
trad. (落井下石)		落	井	下	石
simp. #(落井下石)		落	井	下	石
Literally: “to throw stones at someone who fell down a well”.

Etymology

From a famous epitaph written by Han Yu:

落陷阱不一引手救，反擠之，又下石焉者，皆是也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

---

落陷阱不一引手救，反挤之，又下石焉者，皆是也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: circa 820, Han Yu (韓愈), Epitaph for Liu Tsu-hou《柳子厚墓誌銘》, translated by Yu-shih Chen

Luò xiànjǐng bù yī yǐn shǒu jiù, fǎn jǐ zhī, yòu xià shí yān zhě, jiē shì yě. [Pinyin]

Should someone fall into a pit, they not only will not lift a hand to rescue him but will push him farther down and drop stones on him. This we see everywhere.

Note that the character 阱 (jǐng, “pitfall”) is replaced by the homonym 井 (jǐng, “well”).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): luòjǐngxiàshí

  (Zhuyin): ㄌㄨㄛˋ ㄐㄧㄥˇ ㄒㄧㄚˋ ㄕˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): lok⁶ zeng² haa⁶ sek⁶

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: luòjǐngxiàshí
    • Zhuyin: ㄌㄨㄛˋ ㄐㄧㄥˇ ㄒㄧㄚˋ ㄕˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: luòjǐngsiàshíh
    • Wade–Giles: lo⁴-ching³-hsia⁴-shih²
    • Yale: lwò-jǐng-syà-shŕ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: luohjiingshiahshyr
    • Palladius: лоцзинсяши (loczinsjaši)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lu̯ɔ⁵¹ t͡ɕiŋ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕi̯ä⁵¹ ʂʐ̩³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: lok⁶ zeng² haa⁶ sek⁶
    • Yale: lohk jéng hah sehk
    • Cantonese Pinyin: lok⁹ dzeng² haa⁶ sek⁹
    • Guangdong Romanization: log⁶ zéng² ha⁶ ség⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /lɔːk̚² t͡sɛːŋ³⁵ haː²² sɛːk̚²/

Idiom

落井下石

1. to kick someone when they are down

Synonyms

• 打落水狗 (dǎluòshuǐgǒu)