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。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]
落陷阱不一引手救，反挤之，又下石焉者，皆是也。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]
From: c. 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

Idiom

落井下石

  1. to kick someone when they are down

Synonyms

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