落榜 (luò bǎng) — Fall Off the List / Did Not Make the Cut

Example Usage

他参加了三次歌手比赛，每次都落榜，但还是没放弃。

He entered the singing competition three times, fell off the list every time, but still did not give up.

Cultural Context

The direct opposite of 上岸. 落榜 means failing to appear on an acceptance or ranking list. Originally a classical term for failing the imperial civil service exams — the defining event of a scholar's life in dynastic China — it carries that same weight into modern use: failing the Gaokao, being eliminated from an idol competition, or being rejected from a job. Online it is used with dark humor: dropping below the 斩杀线 is described as 落榜. The phrase 屡试不第 (repeatedly failing the imperial exam) has a modern equivalent in the meme culture around annual exam failure posts.