堕落

• Pinyin: duò luò
• Hanzi breakdown: 堕 = 阜 (mound/height) + 有 (to have) + 土 (earth) — falling from a height to the ground; 落 = 艹 (vegetation) + 洛 (phonetic) — leaves falling from a plant

Meaning

To degenerate; to fall into depravity; to decline morally. Abandoning previously held standards of virtue or professional conduct.

堕落 carries a strong moral judgment. It implies someone has abandoned virtue and sunk to a lower state of being. Common in discussions of corruption, addiction, and moral failure. Often paired with 走向堕落 (heading towards depravity) or 逐渐堕落 (gradually degenerating).

Examples

1. 他从一名优秀警察堕落为腐败分子，令昔日同事深感痛惜。 He went from an outstanding police officer to a corrupt official, which deeply pained his former colleagues.
2. 长期沉迷赌博使他逐渐堕落，不仅失去了工作，还拖垮了整个家庭。 A long-term gambling addiction gradually led him down a bad path; he not only lost his job but also ruined his entire family.
3. 这部小说揭示了权力如何让一个理想主义者一步步走向堕落。 This novel reveals how power can lead an idealist step by step into moral decline.

Usage Guide

Context: morality, corruption, crime, literature

Tone: critical

Do Say

• 权力若缺乏有效监督，便极易成为腐蚀人心的温床，使原本廉洁自律的官员逐渐走向堕落。(Without effective oversight, power can easily become a breeding ground for corruption, causing officials who were originally upright and disciplined to gradually degenerate.)
• 他在青年时期充满理想，却因遭遇一系列挫折而意志消沉，最终在不良环境的侵蚀下走向堕落。(He was full of ideals in his youth, but after a series of setbacks his will collapsed, and he ultimately degenerated under the corrosive influence of a harmful environment.)

Don't Say

• 衣服堕落了 — 堕落 is exclusively about the moral decline of a person; for physical objects falling use 落下 or 掉落; 堕落 cannot describe the state of inanimate objects

Origin & History

堕 (to fall/drop from a height) + 落 (to fall/descend) — two components both meaning falling, here applied to moral decline

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal