ba chìm bảy nổi
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Idiom:
- A life of many hardships and constant changes: This idiom describes a life full of difficulties, turbulence, and instability, where one experiences many ups and downs, struggles, and adversities.
Usage Examples
- Idiom:
- Cuộc đời của ông ấy thật là ba chìm bảy nổi. (His life has truly been full of ups and downs.)
- Sau những năm tháng ba chìm bảy nổi, bà ấy cuối cùng cũng tìm được sự ổn định. (After years of a turbulent life, she finally found stability.)
Advanced Usage
- This idiom is often used to summarize a person's difficult life journey or a period of great hardship. It emphasizes resilience in the face of constant change and misfortune.
- Câu chuyện kể về một cuộc đời ba chìm bảy nổi đầy cảm động. (The story tells of a deeply moving life full of vicissitudes.)
Variants and Related Words
- Long đong, lận đận: These are adjectives/adverbs meaning "to lead a hard, wandering, unstable life." They are often used in similar contexts to describe hardship.
- Một kiếp người long đong. (A life of hardship and wandering.)
- Thăng trầm: This is a noun meaning "ups and downs," often used in a slightly more formal or literary context to describe the fluctuations of life or history, but without the same intense connotation of suffering as "ba chìm bảy nổi."
- Những thăng trầm của cuộc đời. (The ups and downs of life.)
Synonyms
- Gian truân, vất vả: Hardship, toil, difficulty.
- Lênh đênh: Drifting, unstable (often used for a life or situation lacking a firm foundation).
Related Phrases
- Nổi chìm: This is a less common, shortened form sometimes used poetically, meaning "to float and sink," metaphorically indicating life's fluctuations.
- Kiếp nổi chìm. (A life of floating and sinking / a turbulent life.)
Related Idioms
- Cơ hàn: Literally "hunger and cold," meaning a life of poverty and deprivation.
- Lên thác xuống ghềnh: Literally "to go up waterfalls and down rapids," meaning to go through extremely difficult and dangerous situations. This idiom emphasizes perilous obstacles more than constant instability.
- The ups and downs of life