落地生根

luòdìshēnggēn

idiom

Meanings

1 to put down roots
2 to settle down permanently
3 (of a policy or idea) to take firm hold locally

Characters

to fall; to land

to grow; to bring forth

Examples

他来北京二十年了，早已落地生根。

Tā lái Běijīng èrshí nián le, zǎo yǐ luòdìshēnggēn.

He's been in Beijing for twenty years and has long since put down roots.

这项政策必须在基层落地生根才能见效。

Zhè xiàng zhèngcè bìxū zài jīcéng luòdìshēnggēn cáinéng jiànxiào.

This policy must take root at the grassroots level to be effective.

Tips

culture

There is also a real plant called 落地生根 (Bryophyllum pinnatum, 'air plant') whose fallen leaves sprout new plants wherever they land — the literal image behind the idiom.

usage

Two main senses: (1) a person settling permanently in a new place, (2) an abstraction (policy, idea, technology) being adopted deeply at the local level. Context tells you which.

Stroke Order

落 luò

地 dì

生 shēng

根 gēn