cơ khổ

Một gia đình cơ khổ sống trong một túp lều nhỏ.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Destitute; poverty-stricken: Describes a state of extreme poverty and hardship, lacking basic necessities like food and shelter.
   • Miserable; wretched: Refers to a pitiable condition of suffering and distress, often evoking sympathy.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Gia đình cơ khổ ấy nhận được sự giúp đỡ từ cộng đồng. (That destitute family received help from the community.)
  • Cuộc sống cơ khổ của họ khiến ai cũng thương cảm. (Their miserable life made everyone feel pity.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is often used in literary or formal contexts to emphasize profound suffering and deprivation, rather than in casual conversation about minor difficulties.

Variants and Related Words

• Cơ cực (adj): arduous, full of hardship and toil.

  • Họ đã trải qua một thời cơ cực. (They went through a period of great hardship.)

• Khốn khổ (adj): distressed, troubled, in a state of difficulty.

  • Anh ấy có vẻ rất khốn khổ vì nợ nần. (He seems very distressed because of debt.)

Synonyms

• Destitute: Lacking the means to provide for material needs.
• Impoverished: Reduced to poverty.
• Wretched: In a state of deep misery or distress.

Related Idioms

• Cơ hàn: Literally "hunger and cold"; describes a life of poverty and deprivation.

  • Tuổi thơ cơ hàn đã rèn giũa ý chí của ông. (A childhood of poverty forged his willpower.)

• Nghèo khổ: Poor and suffering; a common compound meaning poor and miserable.

  • Khu vực này có nhiều hộ gia đình nghèo khổ. (This area has many poor and suffering households.)