落湯雞

See also: 落汤鸡

Chinese

FWOTD – 3 December 2020

	to fall; to drop (behind); leave behind	soup; hot water	fowl; chicken
trad. (落湯雞/落湯鷄)	落	湯	雞/鷄
simp. (落汤鸡)	落	汤	鸡
Literally: “a chicken that fell in hot water”.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): luòtāngjī

(Zhuyin): ㄌㄨㄛˋ ㄊㄤㄐㄧ

(Nanjing, Nanjing Pinyin): lo̊qtànjì
Cantonese (Jyutping): lok⁶ tong¹ gai¹
Jin (Wiktionary): luah^4-5 ton¹ ji¹
Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): lo̍h-thng-koe
Wu (Northern, Wugniu): ⁸loq-than₁-ci₁ / ⁸loq-³than₁-ci₁

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: luòtāngjī
  - Zhuyin: ㄌㄨㄛˋ ㄊㄤㄐㄧ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: luòtangji
  - Wade–Giles: lo⁴-tʻang¹-chi¹
  - Yale: lwò-tāng-jī
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: luohtangji
  - Palladius: лотанцзи (lotanczi)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /lu̯ɔ⁵¹ tʰɑŋ⁵⁵ t͡ɕi⁵⁵/
- (Nanjing)
  - Nanjing Pinyin: lo̊qtànjì [Phonetic: lo̊qtānjì]
  - Nanjing Pinyin (numbered): loq⁵ tan¹ ji¹ [Phonetic: loq⁵ tan⁴ ji¹]
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /loʔ⁵ tʰã³¹⁻³³ t͡ɕi³¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong–Macau)⁺
  - Jyutping: lok⁶ tong¹ gai¹
  - Yale: lohk tōng gāi
  - Cantonese Pinyin: lok⁹ tong¹ gai¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: log⁶ tong¹ gei¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /lɔːk̚² tʰɔːŋ⁵⁵ kɐi̯⁵⁵/
Jin
- (Taiyuan)⁺
  - Wiktionary: luah^4-5 ton¹ ji¹
  - Sinological IPA (old-style, no sandhi): /luaʔ²⁻⁵⁴ tʰɒ̃¹¹ t͡ɕi¹¹/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lo̍h-thng-koe
  - Tâi-lô: lo̍h-thng-kue
  - Phofsit Daibuun: loiqt'ngkoef
  - IPA (Xiamen): /lo(ʔ)⁴⁻²¹ tʰŋ̍⁴⁴⁻²² kue⁴⁴/
Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ⁸loq-than₁-ci₁
  - MiniDict: loh^入 than^平 ci^平
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ⁵loq-than₁-ji₁
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /loʔ¹¹ tʰã²² t͡ɕi²³/
- (Northern: Suzhou)
  - Wugniu: ⁸loq-³than₁-ci₁
  - MiniDict: loh^入 than^平 ci^平
  - Sinological IPA (Suzhou): /loʔ²² tʰã⁵¹ t͡ɕi/

Noun

落湯雞

(idiomatic, figurative) someone who is soaking wet; someone who looks like a drowned rat (Classifier: 隻／只 m c w)
- 出來尋道士，渰死在山溪。撈得上來大家看，卻如一個落湯雞！ [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
  出来寻道士，渰死在山溪。捞得上来大家看，却如一个落汤鸡！ [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]
  From: Wu Cheng'en, Journey to the West, 16^th century CE
  Chūlái xún dàoshì, yǎn sǐ zài shānxī. Lāo de shànglái dàjiā kàn, què rú yī ge luòtāngjī! [Pinyin]
  We went out to search for the Taoist priest, [found him] drowned in the mountain stream. When we fished him out for everyone to see, he was like a drenched chicken.
(idiomatic, figurative) someone in a difficult situation
- 那老嫗聞言，好像落湯雞一般，口不能言。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]
  那老妪闻言，好像落汤鸡一般，口不能言。 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]
  From: Feng Menglong, Stories to Awaken the World, 1627 CE
  Nà lǎoyù wén yán, hǎoxiàng luòtāngjī yībān, kǒu bùnéng yán. [Pinyin]
  (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 落湯雞 (“someone who is soaking wet; someone who looks like a drowned rat”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		落湯雞
Northeastern Mandarin	Taiwan	落湯雞
Lanyin Mandarin	Ürümqi	落湯雞
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	落湯雞
Cantonese	Guangzhou	濕水雞
Cantonese	Hong Kong	落湯雞, 濕水雞
Jin	Taiyuan	落湯雞
Southern Min	Xiamen	落湯雞
Wu	Shanghai	落湯雞
	Suzhou	落湯雞, 落水鬼
	Hangzhou	落湯雞
	Ningbo	落湯雞
	Wenzhou	濫水雞兒