cùn đời
Definition
- Adjective (slang):
- Worn-out, useless, or good-for-nothing for life: Describes a person who is permanently incompetent, ineffective, or has no prospects, often with a sense of being hopelessly stuck in a low state.
- Lifelong loser: A derogatory term implying someone will remain a failure or be worthless for their entire life.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Hắn ta thật sự là một kẻ cùn đời. (He is truly a good-for-nothing for life.)
- Đừng có mà cùn đời mãi thế! (Don't be such a lifelong loser!)
- Cái tính đó không sửa thì cùn đời. (With that attitude, you'll be useless for life if you don't change it.)
Advanced Usage
- The term is highly colloquial and derogatory. It is often used in frustration, criticism, or insult, not in formal contexts. It emphasizes a permanent, unchanging state of inadequacy.
Variants and Related Words
- Cùn (adj): blunt, dull (literally for tools); figuratively means dull-witted or ineffective.
- Con dao này cùn rồi. (This knife is blunt.)
- Đầu óc nó hơi cùn. (His mind is a bit dull.)
Synonyms
- Hopeless case: A person deemed incapable of improvement.
- Lifelong failure: Someone who is perceived to be unsuccessful forever.
- Good-for-nothing: A person considered lazy or worthless.
Related Idioms
- While "cùn đời" itself is a slang phrase, it relates to the concept of irreversible fate or character.
- Hết thuốc chữa: incurable, beyond hope (often used for behavior).
- Thằng đó hết thuốc chữa rồi, đúng là cùn đời. (That guy is beyond hope, a real lifelong loser.)