Chinese word

堕落

Pronunciation

Pinyinduò luò

Meaning

  • verbgo downhill

Example

他沉迷手机，慢慢堕落了。tā chén mí shǒu jī màn màn duò luò le

He is addicted to his phone and is slowly going downhill.

Illustration for 堕落 (go downhill)

More examples

长期的奢侈生活让他逐渐堕落。cháng qī de shē chǐ shēng huó ràng tā zhú jiàn duò luò

A long life of luxury gradually led him astray.

Core concept

A gradual slide carries conduct or a lifestyle away from sound norms and into moral decay.

Common phrases

  • 道德堕落dào dé duò luò

    moral deterioration

  • 走向堕落zǒu xiàng duò luò

    go downhill

Similar words

腐败fǔ bài: Become morally or institutionally corrupt through improper and self-serving actions.
败坏bài huài: Bring moral conduct, social standards, or someone's good name into disrepute.
放纵fàng zòng: Act as desired without restraint, following urges instead of holding them back.
沉迷chén mí: Be deeply caught up in an activity or interest and unable to stop easily.

Definition in Chinese

道德或行为变坏，放弃应有的原则或规范，变得腐败或颓废dào dé huò xíng wéi biàn huài fàng qì yīng yǒu de yuán zé huò guī fàn biàn de fǔ bài huò tuí fèi

Word origin

The compound joins two images of falling, 堕 (duò, "to fall") + 落 (luò, "to fall"), to represent sinking into a degraded moral or behavioral state.

Usage tips

  • The verb usually presents decline as a process, so it fits a worsening pattern over time better than an isolated lapse.

Other meanings

  • depravitynoun
  • decayverb

Opposites

  • 改过自新gǎi guò zì xīnturn over a new leafverb

Related words

  • 堕落者duò luò zhěmorally corrupt personnoun

Word lists with this word