Chinese word

遭殃

Pronunciation

Pinyinzāo yāng

Meaning

  • verbsuffer

Example

街上的小店都因为停电遭殃了。jiē shàng de xiǎo diàn dōu yīn wèi tíng diàn zāo yāng le

All the small shops on the street suffered because of the power outage.

Illustration for 遭殃 (suffer)

More examples

他的错误连累到邻居也遭殃。tā de cuò wù lián lěi dào lín jū yě zāo yāng

Even the neighbors suffered because of his mistake.

Core concept

A person or thing is caught in a harmful event and comes out damaged or worse off.

Common phrases

  • 自己遭殃zì jǐ zāo yāng

    suffer oneself

  • 连累遭殃lián lěi zāo yāng

    suffer as collateral damage

Similar words

遭受zāo shòu: Experience harm, loss, or another serious setback.
受害shòu hài: Be harmed by a person, event, or situation.
受灾shòu zāi: Suffer damage from a natural disaster or other disaster.
吃亏chī kuī: Suffer a disadvantage or loss in a situation.

Definition in Chinese

遇到灾祸或损失，生活、财产或人身因此受到伤害或不利影响。yù dào zāi huò huò sǔn shī shēng huó cái chǎn huò rén shēn yīn cǐ shòu dào shāng hài huò bú lì yíng xiǎng

Word origin

遭殃 (zāoyāng, "to suffer disaster") joins 遭 (zāo, "to encounter") and 殃 (yāng, "calamity"), giving the compact sense of encountering calamity and bearing its consequences.

Usage tips

  • English suffer often focuses on a person's experience, while this Chinese verb also naturally makes a business, object, or other thing the one harmed.

Other meanings

  • incur lossesverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word