cơ trần
Definition
- Noun:
- The hardships and fluctuations of life: "cơ trần" refers to the difficulties, ups and downs, and unpredictable changes one experiences throughout life. It conveys a sense of life's inevitable struggles and tribulations.
- Worldly dust and toil: This term poetically combines "cơ" (hardship, mechanism) and "trần" (dust, the mundane world) to symbolize the weariness and grime accumulated from life's journey.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Anh ấy đã trải qua bao cơ trần của cuộc đời. (He has experienced so many of life's vicissitudes.)
- Thơ ông thấm đẫm nỗi niềm về kiếp cơ trần. (His poetry is imbued with sentiments about the toils of earthly life.)
Advanced Usage
- This is a literary and somewhat archaic term, primarily found in classical Vietnamese poetry, literature, or reflective prose to express a philosophical or weary view of human existence.
- Trải mấy lớp cơ trần, giờ đây ông cụ sống rất bình thản. (Having gone through several layers of life's hardships, the old man now lives very peacefully.)
Variants and Related Words
- Phong trần (n): Literally "wind and dust," another literary term with a very similar meaning, denoting the hardships and weariness of a life of wandering or struggle.
- Cuộc đời phiêu bạt đầy phong trần. (A wandering life full of hardships.)
Synonyms
- Thăng trầm (n): Ups and downs, fluctuations (often used for fortunes or life circumstances, but less poetic and weary than "cơ trần").
- Gian truân (n): Hardships, tribulations (emphasizes difficulty and adversity).
- Bể dâu (n, idiomatic): Literally "sea mulberries," from the idiom "bãi bể nương dâu" (seas turn into mulberry fields), meaning great changes and vicissitudes in life or the world.
Related Idioms
- While "cơ trần" itself is often used as a standalone term, it encapsulates the sentiment found in many classical idioms about life's impermanence and struggles.
- Bể dâu cuộc đời: The vicissitudes of life.
- Ông đã chứng kiến cảnh bể dâu cuộc đời. (He has witnessed the vicissitudes of life.)