拉下水

lāxiàshuǐ

phrase #20,200

Meanings

1 to drag someone into wrongdoing
2 to implicate someone
3 to corrupt someone
4 to pull someone into a bad situation

Characters

to pull, to drag

Examples

他被朋友拉下水，参与了非法交易。

Tā bèi péngyǒu lā xià shuǐ, cānyù le fēifǎ jiāoyì.

He was dragged in by a friend and got involved in illegal dealings.

别让别人把你拉下水。

Bié ràng biérén bǎ nǐ lā xià shuǐ.

Don't let others drag you into trouble.

Tips

usage

拉下水 is colloquial and figurative. Literally it means 'to pull (someone) down into the water', evoking the image of being pulled underwater — i.e., dragged into a bad situation, corruption, or illegal activity. The structure 把…拉下水 is common.

Stroke Order

拉 lā

下 xià

水 shuǐ