Definitions

1. Adjective:
   • Financially desperate, in dire straits: Describes a state of extreme financial difficulty, lacking resources and facing hardship.
   • Destitute, impoverished: Refers to being reduced to poverty or misery, often implying a sudden or severe downturn in circumstances.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Gia đình anh ấy đang rơi vào cảnh bí quẫn sau trận dịch. (His family has fallen into a state of destitution after the epidemic.)
  • Công ty đối mặt với nguy cơ phá sản và đang thực sự bí quẫn. (The company faces bankruptcy and is truly in dire financial straits.)

Advanced Usage

• "rơi vào cảnh bí quẫn": to fall into destitution.

  • Sau một loạt quyết định sai lầm, ông ta đã rơi vào cảnh bí quẫn. (After a series of wrong decisions, he fell into destitution.)

• "bí quẫn túng thiếu": extremely hard up and lacking necessities. This is a reinforcing phrase.

  • Những người dân ở vùng hẻo lánh sống trong cảnh bí quẫn túng thiếu. (The people in the remote area live in extreme poverty and deprivation.)

Variants and Related Words

• Bí (adj): stuck, in a fix, lacking a solution (often used in a broader sense than just financial).

  • Tôi đang bí ý tưởng. (I'm stuck for ideas.)

• Quẫn (adj): distressed, desperate, cornered (often used in a mental/emotional or situational sense).

  • Anh ta cảm thấy quẫn trí vì áp lực. (He felt mentally distressed due to the pressure.)

Synonyms

• Túng quẫn: destitute, in extreme poverty (a very close synonym, often used interchangeably).
• Khốn cùng: utterly miserable, in extreme distress.
• Bần cùng: impoverished, pauperized.

Notes on Meaning

• "Bí quẫn" typically describes a severe and often acute state of financial hardship. It conveys a sense of being trapped with no way out due to a lack of money or resources.
• While the core meaning is financial, the state often leads to or includes mental distress and desperation, as implied by the component "quẫn".