Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Bitter (taste): Having a sharp, pungent, and often unpleasant taste that is not sour or salty, characteristic of substances like certain medicines, unripe fruits, or coffee.
   • Bitter (feeling): Causing or characterized by sharp mental pain, deep resentment, or severe disappointment.

Usage Examples

• Adjective (taste):
  • Thuốc này rất đắng. (This medicine is very bitter.)
  • Quả mướp đắng có vị đắng. (Bitter melon has a bitter taste.)
• Adjective (feeling):
  • Anh ấy có một ký ức đắng. (He has a bitter memory.)
  • Lời từ chối thật đắng lòng. (The rejection was truly bitter/hard to swallow.)

Advanced Usage

• Used metaphorically to describe harsh truths or painful experiences.
  • Sự thật đắng lòng. (A bitter truth.)

Variants and Related Words

• Đắng cay (adj): Bitter and acrid; often used to describe a compounded feeling of bitterness and pain, both in taste and emotion.
  • Trải nghiệm đắng cay. (A bitter/painful experience.)
• Đắng ngắt (adj): Extremely bitter (in taste).
  • Vị cà phê đắng ngắt. (The coffee tastes intensely bitter.)

Synonyms

• Bitter: Having a sharp, unpleasant taste; feeling angry and unhappy.
• Acrid: Unpleasantly bitter or pungent (more specific to smell/taste).

Related Idioms

• Đắng như bồ hòn: As bitter as the fruit of the soapberry tree (a proverb meaning extremely bitter).
  • Vị thuốc nam này đắng như bồ hòn. (This herbal medicine is as bitter as soapberry.)
• Ngậm đắng nuốt cay: To "hold the bitter and swallow the spicy"; to endure hardship and bitterness in silence.
  • Bà ấy ngậm đắng nuốt cay nuôi con khôn lớn. (She endured immense hardship in silence to raise her children.)

adj

1. bitter
   • vị đắng
     bitterness