踏沉船

tàchénchuán
idiom

Meanings

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

Examples

Tā shīshì de shíhou, nàxiē rén fēnfēn tàchénchuán, shízài tài wúqíng.
When he fell out of favor, they all piled on to sink him — truly heartless.
Zuòrén bù néng 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