Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Sore; aching; painful: Describing an unpleasant physical sensation in a part of the body, often due to injury, illness, or overuse.
   • Ill; sick: Describing a state of being unwell or diseased.

2. Adjective (emotional):

   • Painful; distressing; heartbreaking: Describing emotional or psychological hurt, sorrow, or a feeling of deep sadness.

3. Adverb:

   • Severely; bitterly: Used to describe a significant, often harsh, loss or defeat.

Usage Examples

• Adjective (physical):

  • Tôi bị đau lưng. (I have a sore back.)
  • Anh ấy đau bụng. (He has a stomach ache.)
  • Cô ấy cảm thấy đau sau khi tập thể dục. (She feels sore after exercising.)

• Adjective (emotional):

  • Tin đó làm tôi rất đau lòng. (That news caused me great heartache.)
  • Một kỷ niệm đau. (A painful memory.)

• Adverb:

  • Đội bóng đó thua một trận đau. (That soccer team suffered a bitter defeat.)

Advanced Usage

• "đau đớn": (adjective) painful, agonizing; often used for intense physical or emotional pain.

  • Cô ấy trải qua nỗi đau đớn thể xác. (She endured physical agony.)

• "đau khổ": (adjective) suffering, miserable; primarily used for deep emotional or spiritual anguish.

  • Họ sống trong đau khổ sau biến cố. (They lived in misery after the incident.)

Variants and Related Words

• Nhức nhối (adj): Aching, throbbing; often for a persistent, dull pain.

  • Cơn đau nhức nhối ở răng. (A throbbing pain in the tooth.)

• Đau yếu (adj): Sickly, in poor health.

  • Một người đau yếu. (A sickly person.)

Synonyms

• Physical: Sore, aching, painful, tender.
• Emotional: Heartbreaking, distressing, sorrowful.
• Illness: Sick, ill, unwell.

Related Idioms

• Đau như cắt: To hurt like being cut; describes excruciating pain.

  • Vết thương làm anh ta đau như cắt. (The wound hurt him as if he were being cut.)

• Đau đầu nhức óc: A real headache (literal: aching head, sore brain); describes a very troublesome or annoying problem.

  • Vấn đề này thật đau đầu nhức óc. (This problem is a real headache.)

• Đau hơn mất mát: The pain is worse than the loss; emphasizes the emotional suffering over the physical/material loss.

adj

1. sore; tender; aching
   • mắt đau
     Sore eyes

adj

1. ill; sick; diseased