Definition

1. Noun:
   • Hell: In religious or mythological beliefs, "địa ngục" refers to the place where the souls of sinners are punished after death.
   • A place of extreme suffering or misery: "địa ngục" is also used metaphorically to describe a situation or place of great hardship, torment, or unbearable conditions.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Theo một số tôn giáo, kẻ ác sẽ xuống địa ngục sau khi chết. (According to some religions, evil people will go to hell after death.)
  • Chiến tranh đã biến thành phố đó thành một địa ngục trần gian. (The war turned that city into a living hell.)

Advanced Usage

• "luyện ngục" (purgatory): This is a related but distinct concept in some beliefs, referring to a temporary state of purification for souls not yet ready for heaven.
• "cửa địa ngục" (the gates of hell): Often used to describe an entrance to a place of great danger or evil.
  • Họ cảm thấy như đang đứng trước cửa địa ngục. (They felt like they were standing before the gates of hell.)

Variants and Related Words

• Âm phủ (noun): The underworld; often used interchangeably with "địa ngục" but can sometimes imply a broader realm of the dead.
• Hỏa ngục (noun): A specific type of hell, often emphasizing punishment by fire.
• Thiên đàng (noun): Heaven; the direct antonym of "địa ngục".

Synonyms

• Hỏa ngục: Hell (emphasizing fire).
• Âm ti: The underworld (from Chinese mythology/Buddhist cosmology).

Related Phrases (Collocations)

• xuống địa ngục: to go to hell.
  • Kẻ phản bội đó rồi sẽ xuống địa ngục. (That traitor will go to hell.)
• địa ngục trần gian: a hell on earth.
  • Nạn đói đã tạo ra một địa ngục trần gian. (The famine created a hell on earth.)

Related Idioms

• Thiên đường hay địa ngục đều tại lòng mình: Heaven or hell is in one's own heart/mind. This idiom suggests that one's state of happiness or misery is self-created.
• Dẫn đường xuống địa ngục: To lead someone to hell; to lead someone into ruin or disaster.

noun

1. hell