名落孙山 míng luò sūn shān Name falls behind Sun Shan

Explanation

比喻考试或选拔没有录取。

A metaphor for failing an exam or selection.

Origin Story

宋朝时，苏州有个才子叫孙山，他为人风趣幽默。一次他去参加乡试，考完后，他发现自己考中了，但却是最后一名。他的朋友没有考中，留在京城继续准备下次考试。孙山回到家乡，乡亲们都来祝贺他。这时，他朋友的父亲来打听儿子的考试结果，孙山笑着说：‘榜上有名的最后一名是孙山，你儿子比孙山还差呢！’。这个典故后来演变成了成语“名落孙山”，用来比喻考试或选拔没有录取。

sòng cháo shí, sūzhōu yǒu ge cáizi jiào sūn shān, tā wéirén fēngqù yōumò. yīcì tā qù cānjiā xiāngshì, kǎo wán hòu, tā fāxiàn zìjǐ kǎo zhòng le, dàn què shì zuìhòu yī míng. tā de péngyou méiyǒu kǎo zhòng, liú zài jīngchéng jìxù zhǔnbèi xià cì kǎoshì. sūn shān huí dào jiāxiāng, xiāngqīn men dōu lái zhùhè tā. zhè shí, tā péngyou de fùqīn lái dǎting érzi de kǎoshì jiéguǒ, sūn shān xiàozhe shuō: ‘bǎng shàng yǒumíng de zuìhòu yī míng shì sūn shān, nǐ érzi bǐ sūn shān hái chà ne!’ zhège diǎngù hòulái yǎnbiàn chéng le chéngyǔ “míng luò sūn shān”, yòng lái bǐyù kǎoshì huò xuǎnbá méiyǒu lùqǔ.

During the Song Dynasty, there was a talented man named Sun Shan from Suzhou, known for his wit and humor. He once took the imperial examination. After the exam, he found out that he had passed, but only as the last one. His friend failed and stayed in the capital to prepare for the next exam. Sun Shan returned to his hometown, where the villagers celebrated him. Then, his friend's father came to inquire about his son's exam results, Sun Shan said with a smile: 'The last one on the list of successful candidates is Sun Shan, your son is even worse than Sun Shan!' This anecdote later evolved into the idiom "míng luò sūn shān", used to describe failing an exam or selection.

Usage

常用来形容考试或选拔中落选。

cháng yòng lái xíngróng kǎoshì huò xuǎnbá zhōng luòxuǎn

Often used to describe failing an exam or selection.

Examples

• 这次考试他名落孙山，十分沮丧。

  zhè cì kǎoshì tā míng luò sūn shān, shífēn jǔsàng

  He failed the exam and was very depressed.

• 虽然名落孙山，但他并没有灰心。

  suīrán míng luò sūn shān, dàn tā bìng méiyǒu huīxīn

  Although he failed, he didn't lose heart

Related Idioms

• 落选

• 失意

Opposite Idioms

• 名列前茅

• 金榜题名