名落孙山 míng luò sūn shān/Failing to Pass on Examinatio

Sarah · Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 98 Location: London

人们用“名落孙山 míng luò sūn shān Failing to Pass on Examination ”
来比喻考试没有考上或者选拔没有被录取。
The people used this idiom to indicate failing in an examination or competition.

例句Examples：

1．每年的高考都有很多学生名落孙山。
měi nián de gāo kǎo dōu yǒu hěn duō xué sheng míng luò sūn shān.
There are a quite number of students.
" falling in a competitive examination" for getting admission to higher institutions every year.

2．公司招聘人员名单上没有我的名字，这次我又名落孙山了。
gōng sī zhāo pìn ren yuan míng dān shang méi yǒu wǒ, zhè cì wǒ yòu míng luò sūn shān le.
I've again already been " fallen in a competitive examination as　I've failed to be employed by that company.

成语故事

中国古时候宋朝有一个很幽默的人，他叫孙山。有一年他去参加考试，公布名单时他是最后一名。回到家，他的邻居向他打听自己的儿子考得怎么样。孙山笑着对邻居说：“孙山考了最后一名，你儿子的名字还在孙山的后面呢。”

In the Song Dynasty there was a joker called Sun Shan. One year he went to take the imperial examination, and came bottom of the list of successful candidates. Back in his hometown, one of his neighbor asked him whether the neighbor's son had also passed. Sun Shan said, with a smile:"Sun Shan was the last on the list. Your son came after Sun Shan."