tử

Definition

1. Verb (humorous or vulgar):

   • To die; to kick the bucket: Used informally, often in a joking or crude manner, to mean to die.
   • To die for a cause: To die as a martyr.

2. Noun:

   • Viscount: The fourth of the five aristocratic titles (公, 侯, 伯, 子, 男 - Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, Baron) in the feudal system.

Usage Examples

• Verb:

  • Uống rượu nhiều thế thì tử đến nơi. (Drinking that much alcohol, you're going to kick the bucket soon.)
  • Ông ấy tử vì đạo. (He died as a martyr for his faith.)

• Noun:

  • Ông ta được phong tước tử. (He was conferred the title of Viscount.)

Advanced Usage

• "tử vì đạo": To die for one's religion/faith; to be martyred.
  • Những vị thánh tử vì đạo. (The saints who were martyred.)

Variants and Related Words

• Tử tế (adj): Kind, good, decent. (Note: This is a separate, common compound word where "tử" does not carry the meaning of death.)

  • Anh ấy là một người rất tử tế. (He is a very kind person.)

• Tử hình (n): Death penalty; capital punishment.

  • Bản án tử hình. (A death sentence.)

• Tử thi (n): Corpse; dead body.

  • Tìm thấy tử thi tại hiện trường. (A corpse was found at the scene.)

Synonyms

• Verb: To die, to perish, to pass away (humorous/vulgar: to croak, to snuff it).
• Noun: Viscount.

Related Idioms

• Tử mã nan truy: Literally "a dead horse is hard to chase"; meaning a lost cause or something impossible to salvage.

  • Việc đó giờ như tử mã nan truy rồi. (That matter is now a lost cause.)

• Tử sinh: Literally "death and life"; refers to life-and-death matters or extreme situations.

  • Đó là vấn đề tử sinh. (That is a matter of life and death.)