遭殃 zāoyāng to suffer a calamity
How to remember 遭殃: 遭 to encounter + 殃 misfortune = to suffer a calamity.
Characters
How it is used
- 'To suffer for it, be the one who gets hurt' - colloquial - 上头出错，下面遭殃 (shàngtou chūcuò, xiàmian zāoyāng) the bosses mess up, the underlings suffer.
- Intransitive verb-object (遭 meet + 殃 disaster); the subject is the victim of a calamity, often someone else's doing.
- Everyday, slightly vivid/complaining tone; you 遭殃 rather than cause the trouble.
Example sentences
- 先下手为强，后下手遭殃。 Xiānxiàshǒuwéiqiáng, hòu xiàshǒu zāoyāng.Get them before they get us.