落 花 流 水

luò huā liú shuǐdictionary entry

to be in a sorry state / to be utterly defeated

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-3274824e777298be. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

落花流水落花流水 [luo4 hua1 liu2 shui3] /to be in a sorry state/to be utterly defeated/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

落
là
to leave out / to be missing / to leave behind or forget to bring / to lag or fall behind
lào
colloquial reading for 落[luò] in certain compounds
luò
to fall or drop / (of the sun) to set / (of a tide) to go out / to lower / to decline or sink / to lag or fall behind / to fall onto / to rest with / to get or receive / to write down / whereabouts / settlement
花
huā
flower / blossom / CL:朵[duǒ],支[zhī],束[shù],把[bǎ],盆[pén],簇[cù] / fancy pattern / florid / to spend (money, time) / (coll.) lecherous / lustful / also pr. [wěi]
Huā
surname Hua
流
liú
to flow / to disseminate / to circulate or spread / to move or drift / to degenerate / to banish or send into exile / stream of water or sth resembling one / class, rate or grade
水
shuǐ
water / (after a name) ... River / to swim (used mostly in 會水|会水[huì shuǐ] and 水性[shuǐ xìng]) / (coll.) lacking in substance / shoddy / (bound form) additional cost / extra income / classifier for washings of a garment
Shuǐ
surname Shui / Shui ethnic group

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.