踏沉船

tàchénchuán
phrase

Meanings

  1. 1 to kick someone when they're down
  2. 2 to take advantage of another's crisis to do them harm

Examples

HSK 7-9
Tā shī shì de shíhou, nàxiē rén fēnfēn tàchénchuán, shízài tài wúqíng.
When he fell out of favor, they all piled on to sink him - truly heartless.
HSK 7-9
Zuòrén bùnéng tàchénchuán, yào hòudao.
You shouldn't kick someone when they're down; you need to have some decency.

Tips

memory
Literally 'to step on a sinking ship' - stomping on a boat that is already going under. A vivid metaphor for piling misfortune on top of misfortune.

Stroke Order

chén
chuán