堕 duò to fall
to fall; to drop; to sink; degenerate
怎么记住“堕”: 阝 mound + 有 have + 土 earth = to fall. On top of a mound, two boys shout "Nobody can have better balance," slip on the loose earth and are the first to fall.
部件结构
形声 · Meaning + sound
One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.
堕 = 陏 gourd + 土 earth
- 陏 gourd sound
- 阝 mound
- 有 have
- 𠂇 left hand
- ⺝ moon
- 土 earth meaning
On top of a mound, two boys shout "Nobody can have better balance," slip on the loose earth and are the first to fall.
How it came to be
The earth gives the meaning and the top part the sound; the simplified form leaves the sign for work out of that part.
用法
- To fall/sink, chiefly moral: 堕落 (duòluò) to degenerate, go to the bad; 生活堕落 (shēnghuó duòluò) a dissolute life.
- 堕胎 (duòtāi) = abortion. Bound and formal; not the everyday 'fall'.