Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Bitter, acrid: Describes a taste that is sharp, unpleasant, and biting, like that of certain unripe fruits, some medicines, or coffee without sugar. It is a stronger, more intense, or more complex form of the basic adjective "đắng" (bitter).
   • Bitter, painful (figurative): Used to describe feelings, memories, or experiences that are deeply painful, sorrowful, or hard to accept.

Usage Examples

• Adjective (Taste):
  • Vị cà phê này thật đăng đắng. (The taste of this coffee is truly bitter/acrid.)
  • Quả khế xanh có vị đăng đắng. (The green star fruit has a bitter taste.)
• Adjective (Feeling):
  • Anh ấy nhớ lại những kỷ niệm đăng đắng thời tuổi trẻ. (He recalls the bitter memories of his youth.)
  • Lời từ chối ấy thật đăng đắng. (That rejection was truly bitter/painful.)

Advanced Usage

• "đắng đắng đăng đăng": An alliterative phrase emphasizing a persistent, lingering bitterness, either in taste or feeling.
  • Câu chuyện để lại trong lòng cô một nỗi buồn đắng đắng đăng đăng. (The story left in her heart a sorrow that was profoundly bitter.)

Variants and Related Words

• Đắng (adj): The core adjective meaning "bitter." "Đăng đắng" is an intensified or expressive variant.
• Cay đắng (adj): A common compound meaning "bitter and acrid" (for taste) or "painful and resentful" (for feelings). It is stronger and more commonly used than "đăng đắng" for emotional contexts.
• Ngậm đắng nuốt cay (idiom): Literally "to hold the bitter and swallow the spicy," meaning to endure hardship and suffering in silence.

Synonyms

• Chat (adj): Astringent, tart (describing a dry, puckering taste, often from unripe fruit; distinct from but sometimes associated with bitterness).
• Nhẫn đắng (adj, literary): Bitter, used more in poetic or formal contexts to describe a painful experience.

Related Idioms

• Đắng như bồ hòn: As bitter as the fruit of the soapberry tree (used to describe an extremely bitter taste).
• Mật đắng chết ruồi: Literally "bitter honey that kills flies," meaning something that appears sweet but is ultimately harmful or bitter.

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