遭殃

• 拼音: zāo yāng
• 汉字拆解: 遭 = 辶+ 曹 (to encounter); 殃 = 歹 + 央 (calamity/affliction)

含义

To suffer a calamity; to meet with misfortune; to be harmed or afflicted. To be on the receiving end of disaster or trouble, often through no fault of one's own.

Colloquial in tone despite being an established compound. Often used in contexts of natural disaster, conflict, unfair punishment, or collateral damage. 无辜遭殃 (innocent victims), 跟着遭殃 (to suffer alongside). The tone is usually sympathetic toward the victim.

例句

1. 山洪突然暴发，周边几个村庄的农田和房屋都遭殃了，损失十分惨重。
2. 他只是碰巧经过事发地点，却无端遭殃，被警察当作嫌疑人带走问话。
3. 公司高层决策失误，最终遭殃的却是底层的普通员工，许多人因此失去工作。

用法指南

语境: disasters, injustice, collateral harm, everyday misfortune

语气: sympathetic/colloquial

正确说法

• 因为管理层的轻率决定，整个部门都跟着遭殃，工资被无故拖欠了两个月。(Because of the management's reckless decision, the whole department suffered together, with wages withheld for two months without justification.)
• 台风登陆后，沿海地区首当其冲，多处基础设施严重受损，居民无辜遭殃。(After the typhoon made landfall, coastal areas bore the brunt, with significant damage to infrastructure and innocent residents suffering the consequences.)

错误说法

• 遭殃了一个好机会 — 遭殃 implies undesirable suffering or harm; it cannot describe missing a good opportunity; use 错过 or 失去 instead

起源与历史

遭 (to encounter/meet with) + 殃 (calamity/disaster)

文化背景

世代: All ages

社会背景: Universal