Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Plaintive; mournful; lamenting: Expressing sorrow, grief, or a gentle, sad complaint. It describes a tone, sound, or feeling that is deeply sad and full of regret or sorrowful accusation.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Giọng nói của cô ấy nghe thật ai oán. (Her voice sounded truly plaintive.)
  • Những bài hát dân gian đầy ai oán. (The folk songs are full of lament.)
  • Tiếng đàn bầu cất lên ai oán. (The sound of the monochord rose, mournful and plaintive.)

Advanced Usage

• The word "ai oán" often carries a poetic or literary weight, used to describe not just sound but also an atmosphere or a state of heart that blends sadness with a sense of grievance or unspoken blame.
  • Bầu không khí ai oán bao trùm cảnh chiến trường. (A plaintive, mournful atmosphere enveloped the battlefield scene.)

Variants and Related Words

• Than ai oán (v): to lament plaintively; to utter mournful complaints.

  • Bà cụ ngồi than ai oán số phận. (The old woman sat lamenting her fate plaintively.)

• Lời ai oán (n): a plaintive lament; words of sorrowful complaint.

  • Lời ai oán của người phụ nữ ấy khiến ai cũng thương cảm. (That woman's plaintive lament made everyone feel compassion.)

Synonyms

• Plaintive: Sorrowful and mournful, often in a gentle, complaining way.
• Lamenting: Expressing passionate grief.
• Mournful: Feeling, expressing, or inducing sadness or grief.
• Sorrowful: Full of or feeling sorrow.

Related Idioms

• While "ai oán" itself is not typically part of a fixed idiom, it is the core sentiment in phrases describing lamentation.
  • Khúc ai oán: a plaintive melody; a lament.

    • Khúc ai oán của người nghệ sĩ làm lay động trái tim người nghe. (The artist's plaintive melody stirred the hearts of the listeners.)

adj

1. Plaintive
   • giọng ai oán
     plaintive voice
   • tiếng khóc than ai oán
     plaintive lamentations