cùng kiệt
Definition
- Adjective:
- Destitute; utterly impoverished: Describes a state of extreme poverty where one has completely exhausted all material resources and means of living.
- Completely depleted; exhausted: Can describe resources, energy, or wealth that have been used up entirely, leaving nothing left.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Gia đình đó sống trong cảnh cùng kiệt. (That family lives in destitute conditions.)
- Sau trận chiến, nguồn lực của thành phố đã cùng kiệt. (After the battle, the city's resources were completely exhausted.)
Advanced Usage
- Often used in formal or literary contexts to emphasize an absolute, final state of lack or depletion. It conveys a stronger sense of finality than words like "nghèo" (poor).
Variants and Related Words
- Bần cùng (adj): impoverished, destitute. Often used in the phrase "bần cùng hóa" (to impoverish).
- Kiệt quệ (adj): depleted, exhausted (often used for finances, energy, or health).
Synonyms
- Destitute: Lacking the necessities of life.
- Impoverished: Reduced to poverty.
- Depleted: Used up; exhausted.
Related Idioms
- Cùng kiệt quẫn: An intensified phrase meaning in dire, desperate, and hopeless poverty.
- Họ rơi vào bước đường cùng kiệt quẫn. (They fell into a state of desperate destitution.)