cố cùng

Một gia đình sống trong cảnh cố cùng sau trận lũ.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Extremely poor; destitute: Describes a state of severe poverty and wretchedness, often implying a complete lack of resources and a miserable existence.
   • Wretched; miserable: Can describe a condition of great unhappiness or discomfort stemming from poverty or misfortune.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Gia đình ấy sống trong cảnh cố cùng. (That family lives in a state of utter destitution.)
  • Sau trận lũ, nhiều người rơi vào hoàn cảnh cố cùng. (After the flood, many people fell into a wretched situation.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "cố cùng" is considered literary or archaic in modern Vietnamese. It is used to emphasize an extreme, often tragic, state of poverty or hardship.

Variants and Related Words

• Bần cùng (adj): impoverished, destitute. This is a more common synonym in contemporary usage.
  • Khu vực bần cùng của thành phố. (The impoverished area of the city.)

Synonyms

• Destitute: Lacking the necessities of life.
• Impoverished: Reduced to poverty.
• Wretched: In a state of deep misery or poverty.

Related Idioms

• Đường cùng: A dead end; a state of having no way out. While not identical, it shares the concept of an extreme, final state of difficulty.
  • Bị dồn đến bước đường cùng. (To be driven to a dead end / to the brink.)