Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Unfavourable, adverse, disadvantageous: Describes a condition, situation, or factor that is not beneficial, creates difficulties, or hinders progress. It implies a lack of favor or a negative quality that works against a desired outcome.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Thời tiết bất thuận đã làm hỏng mùa màng. (Unfavourable weather ruined the crops.)
  • Công ty gặp nhiều điều kiện bất thuận trong năm nay. (The company encountered many adverse conditions this year.)
  • Đó là một hoàn cảnh rất bất thuận cho sự phát triển. (That is a very disadvantageous circumstance for development.)

Advanced Usage

• "bất thuận" in formal or written contexts: This word is considered somewhat formal or literary in modern Vietnamese and is more commonly found in written language, official reports, or formal analysis than in casual conversation.
  • Các yếu tố bất thuận từ môi trường cần được giảm thiểu. (Unfavourable environmental factors need to be minimized.)

Variants and Related Words

• Bất lợi (adj): Disadvantageous, unfavorable. This is a much more common and versatile synonym in everyday language.
  • Tình thế bất lợi. (A disadvantageous situation.)
• Không thuận lợi (adj phrase): Not favorable, not advantageous. A more conversational way to express a similar meaning.
  • Thời tiết không thuận lợi. (The weather is not favorable.)

Synonyms

• Bất lợi: Disadvantageous, unfavorable.
• Bất tiện: Inconvenient (often for practical matters).
• Trở ngại (noun used adjectivally): Obstructive, hindering.

Notes on Meaning

• Specificity: "Bất thuận" often describes broader, more general conditions (like weather, circumstances, fate) rather than specific, minor inconveniences. It carries a slightly stronger connotation of being contrary or opposed to what is desired.
• Frequency: As noted in the reference, its usage is considered somewhat rare ("rare") in modern Vietnamese compared to its synonym "bất lợi."

1. Unfavourable
   • Thời tiết bất thuận
     Unfavourable weather