中箭落馬 zhòng jiàn luò mǎ

DEFINITIONS

  1. lit. to be struck by an arrow and fall from one's horse
  2. to suffer a serious setback (idiom)

CHARACTERS

中 zhòng central; center, middle; in the midst of; hit (target); attain
箭 jiàn arrow; type of bamboo
落 luò fall, drop; net income, surplus
馬 mǎ horse; surname; KangXi radical 187