倒楣

dǎoméi

adjective

Meanings

1 to have bad luck
2 to be unlucky
3 down on one's luck

Characters

lintel (above a door)

Examples

今天真倒楣，公车刚开走就下雨了。

Jīntiān zhēn dǎoméi, gōngchē gāng kāi zǒu jiù xià yǔ le.

What rotten luck today — the bus just pulled away and then it started raining.

别碰他，这几天他正倒楣呢。

Bié pèng tā, zhè jǐ tiān tā zhèng dǎoméi ne.

Don't bother him, he's been having a bad run these past few days.

Tips

register

Taiwan-preferred spelling. Mainland usually writes 倒霉 (same pronunciation, same meaning). Both forms are accepted but 倒楣 is the traditional-character standard.

Stroke Order

倒 dào

楣 méi