名落孙山 míng luò sūn shān

DEFINITIONS

  1. lit. to fall behind Sun Shan 孫山|孙山[Sun1 Shan1] (who came last in the imperial examination) (idiom)
  2. fig. to fail an exam
  3. to fall behind (in a competition)

CHARACTERS

名 míng
HSK 1
name, rank, title, position
落 luò
HSK 4
fall, drop; net income, surplus
孙 sūn
HSK 4
grandchild, descendent; surname
山 shān
HSK 3
mountain, hill, peak