Ruột đứt khúc

Definition

1. Idiom:
   • To be heartbroken / to be utterly grief-stricken: A figurative expression describing a state of extreme emotional pain and sorrow, as if one's intestines are being severed into pieces. It conveys profound anguish, often due to loss, separation, or deep pity.

Usage Examples

• Idiom:
  • Nghe tin con mất tích, bà cụ đau đớn ruột đứt khúc. (Hearing the news of her missing child, the old woman was utterly heartbroken.)
  • Câu chuyện thương tâm ấy khiến ai nghe cũng cảm thấy ruột đứt khúc. (That tragic story made anyone who heard it feel profound grief.)

Advanced Usage

• This idiom is primarily used in literary, dramatic, or very emotional contexts to emphasize the depth of suffering. It is not typically used for minor disappointments.

Variants and Related Words

• Đứt ruột (idiom): A shorter, related form meaning "heartbreaking" or "to be cut to the heart."
  • Cảnh chia ly thật đứt ruột. (The scene of separation was truly heartbreaking.)

Synonyms

• Heart-wrenching: causing great sadness or distress.
• Devastated: completely overwhelmed by sorrow.
• To be torn apart (emotionally): to suffer extreme emotional pain.

Related Idioms

• Nát lòng: to have a broken heart; to be deeply distressed.
  • Tin đó làm cho bà nát lòng. (That news broke her heart.)
• Đau như cắt: to hurt as if being cut; to experience sharp, severe pain (emotional or physical).
  • Nỗi buồn đau như cắt. (The sorrow hurt sharply.)