cùng đường
Definition
Adjective:
- At a dead end / in a hopeless situation: Describes a state of having no more options, solutions, or ways to proceed; being in an extremely difficult situation with no apparent escape or resolution.
- Cornered / backed into a corner: Often implies being forced into a difficult position by circumstances, leaving no room for maneuver.
Noun (less common):
- An impasse / a dead end: Refers to the situation or point itself where progress is impossible.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Sau khi mất việc và hết tiền tiết kiệm, anh ta cảm thấy mình thực sự cùng đường. (After losing his job and exhausting his savings, he felt he was truly at a dead end.)
- Con thú bị săn đuổi và cuối cùng đã cùng đường. (The hunted animal was chased and finally cornered.)
- Noun:
- Cuộc đàm phán đã đi đến chỗ cùng đường. (The negotiations have reached an impasse.)
Advanced Usage
- The word is often used in a figurative sense to describe psychological, financial, or strategic desperation, not just a physical dead end.
- It can be used as a predicate adjective (e.g., - to be driven into a corner) or attributively (e.g., - a hopeless situation).
Variants and Related Words
- Đường cùng (n): This is a reversed form with the same meaning, literally "the end of the road." It is commonly used as a noun.
- Họ đã đi đến đường cùng. (They have come to the end of the road.)
Synonyms
- Hopeless: having no hope.
- Desperate: in a state of despair, typically because all avenues of escape or improvement seem closed.
- Cornered: forced into a situation where one must confront a difficulty.
Related Idioms
- Bước đường cùng: the final, desperate stage; the last resort.
- Đây là bước đường cùng, chúng tôi buộc phải bán nhà. (This is the final desperate step; we are forced to sell the house.)
- Cùng đường tuyệt lộ: an idiom emphasizing complete hopelessness, with no way out and no path forward.
- Công ty lâm vào cảnh cùng đường tuyệt lộ. (The company fell into a situation of complete hopelessness.)