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落得…(的)下场

to end up with (a bad fate); to come to (a sorry end)

Structure
主语 … , (最后) 落得 (个) 坏结果 的下场

What it means

“To end up with (a bad fate)”: a fate the person brought on themselves, so the tone blames or warns. 落 (luò) here means “to land in”.

How it is built

Subject + cause,(最后)落得 +(个)+ bad result + 的下场/的结局: 他沉迷赌博,最后落得个倾家荡产的下场 (he was hooked on gambling and ended up losing everything).

When to use it

Closes a cause-and-effect chain in stories and warnings (因为…,最后落得…). The outcome is almost always ruin, loneliness or prison; 个 is common in speech: 落得个…的下场.

Watch out

Only for bad outcomes: ✗落得考上名牌大学的下场. For a good result say 最终考上了 or 赢得了.

Examples

恶人生前心安理得,死后总该落得下油锅的下场。
The wicked may live without a qualm, but after death they must surely end up in the boiling oil.
他沉迷赌博,最后落得个倾家荡产的下场。
He was hooked on gambling and in the end lost everything he had.
她处处算计别人,结果落得一个朋友也没有的下场。
She schemed against everyone, and ended up without a single friend.
Learn this in Lesson 248 · HSK 9+: 城隍与阎王 (City gods and the king of hell)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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