倒霉

dǎoméi

adjective HSK 7-9 #2,885

Meanings

1 unlucky
2 to have bad luck
3 unfortunate

Characters

Examples

HSK 2

谁让你那么倒霉呢？

Shéi ràng nǐ nàme dǎoméi ne?

Who made you so unlucky?

HSK 4

今天真倒霉，手机掉水里了。

Jīntiān zhēn dǎoméi, shǒujī diào shuǐ lǐ le.

Really unlucky today - my phone fell in the water.

Tips

history

Originally written 倒楣. 楣 was the lintel above a door - when a family failed the imperial exam, their door lintel would be taken down (倒), symbolizing lost fortune.

Stroke Order

倒 dǎo

霉 méi