完蛋

• Pinyin: wán dàn
• Hanzi breakdown: 完 = 宀 (roof) + 元 (primary); 蛋 = 疋 (a measure/foot, phonetic) + 虫 (insect/creature) — egg, used colloquially as a mild intensifier in northern slang

Meaning

To be finished; done for; ruined; it's all over. Expresses total failure, collapse, or the hopeless end of something.

A vivid colloquial expression. 蛋 (egg) here is not literal — the phrase evolved into a general exclamation of total ruin, likely from the image of something as irreversibly broken as a smashed egg. Used when a person, plan, relationship, or situation has collapsed beyond saving. Can describe the speaker's own predicament (我完蛋了) or someone else's. Broadly understood but sits firmly in the casual-to-informal register — inappropriate in formal writing.

Examples

1. 合同都签了才发现有个关键条款写错了，这下真的完蛋了。 They only discovered a critical clause was wrong after the contract was signed — this time they're really done for.
2. 他把老板最重要的客户给得罪了，在这家公司算是彻底完蛋了。 He managed to offend the boss's most important client; his future at this company is finished.
3. 手机没电、钱包找不到、又下起了大雨——今天彻底完蛋了。 Phone dead, wallet missing, and now it's started pouring rain — today is a complete disaster.

Usage Guide

Context: everyday, casual, emotional

Tone: exasperated

Do Say

• 备份没做，电脑又崩了，这次真的完蛋了。(No backup was made and the computer crashed again — this time we're really done for.)
• 如果今晚的方案通不过，我们整个项目就完蛋了。(If tonight's proposal doesn't get approved, our whole project is finished.)

Don't Say

• 在正式场合、书面报告或严肃演讲中使用完蛋 (完蛋 is too colloquial for formal contexts; use 失败 (fail), 崩溃 (collapse), or 终止 (terminate) in professional writing)

Origin & History

Colloquial compound of 完 (complete, finished) + 蛋 (egg; a mild intensifier in northern Chinese slang). The exact etymology is debated, but 完蛋 entered common usage in the 20th century as an expression of utter ruin — suggesting something as uselessly and irreversibly done as a broken egg.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal