Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Weathered, worn, having endured hardship: Describes a state of being physically worn out or aged due to prolonged exposure to harsh conditions, especially weather, or a difficult life.
   • Haggard, showing signs of suffering: Describes an appearance marked by fatigue, struggle, and the toll of enduring difficulties.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Khuôn mặt dãi dầu vì nắng gió. (A face weathered by sun and wind.)
  • Cuộc sống dãi dầu của người lao động nghèo. (The hard, worn life of poor laborers.)
  • Sau chuyến đi dài, anh ấy trông thật dãi dầu. (After the long journey, he looked utterly haggard.)

Advanced Usage

• "dãi nắng dầm mưa" / "dãi dầu mưa nắng": A common four-word idiom meaning "to brave the sun and rain," symbolizing enduring all kinds of hardship and adversity.

  • Công việc đồng áng khiến bác nông dân phải dãi nắng dầm mưa. (Farming work forces the farmer to brave the sun and rain.)

• "dãi nguyệt dầu hoa" (literary, archaic): A classical idiom describing the act of enduring trials and tribulations, often in the context of romantic or passionate relationships.

  • Câu chuyện tình yêu của họ là một hành trình dãi nguyệt dầu hoa. (Their love story was a journey of enduring passion's trials.)

Variants and Related Words

• Dầm dề (adj): Soaked, drenched (usually with water or rain). While related to enduring weather, it focuses more on the state of being wet.
• Phong trần (adj/n): Literally "wind and dust," describing a life of wandering and hardship, often with a poetic, romanticized connotation of a vagabond life.

Synonyms

• Vất vả: Hard, toilsome, difficult (focuses more on the difficulty of the work/life itself).
• Cơ cực: Destitute, extremely difficult and needy (emphasizes poverty and extreme hardship).
• Nhọc nhằn: Arduous, laborious (focuses on physical fatigue and strenuous effort).

Notes on Meaning

• The word "dãi dầu" strongly implies that the hardship or wear is visibly etched onto the person or thing, often as a result of prolonged, external forces (like weather or a tough life). It is more vivid and descriptive than general words for "hard" or "difficult."
• It often carries a tone of sympathy, respect, or poetic lament for the suffering endured.