Definition

1. Noun:
   • Ties of misfortune, bonds of injustice: A literary and somewhat archaic term referring to the metaphorical bonds or connections that fatefully tie someone to misfortune, suffering, or an unjust situation. It evokes a sense of being bound by a predestined or unfair fate.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Số phận đã buộc họ vào một dây oan. (Fate has bound them with ties of misfortune.)
  • Trong tác phẩm, nhân vật chính luôn cố gắng thoát khỏi dây oan của kiếp trước. (In the work, the main character always tries to escape the bonds of injustice from a past life.)

Advanced Usage

• "mắc phải dây oan": to be caught in/entangled by ties of misfortune.

  • Ông ấy tin rằng mình đã mắc phải dây oan từ kiếp trước. (He believes he was caught in ties of misfortune from a past life.)

• "dây oan nghiệt": a stronger, more fatalistic variant emphasizing cruel or ruthless bonds of fate (often used in poetry).

  • Thơ ca trung đại thường nhắc đến những dây oan nghiệt của tình duyên. (Medieval poetry often mentions the cruel bonds of fate in love.)

Variants and Related Words

• Oan (noun/adj): Injustice, grievance; unjust, wronged. This is the root word meaning "injustice" or "grievance."
  • Chịu oan: to suffer an injustice.
• Oan nghiệt (adj): Cruel, ruthless (often of fate); involving severe injustice.
  • Số phận oan nghiệt: a cruel fate.
• Dây (noun): String, cord, bond. Used literally and metaphorically for connections or ties.

Synonyms

• Mối oan khiên (n): A cause or knot of grievance/injustice (similar in meaning, also literary).
• Nghiệp chướng (n): Karma, retribution (Buddhist concept, shares the idea of binding fate but with a karmic cause).
• Sợi dây định mệnh (n): The thread of destiny (less specific to misfortune).

Related Idioms

• "Oan gia ngõ hẹp": Literally "enemies meet on a narrow path," meaning conflicts or troubles are unavoidable. While not containing "dây oan," it relates to the theme of inescapable conflict or misfortune.
• "Mang nặng đẻ đau": Literally "to carry a heavy burden and give birth in pain," sometimes used metaphorically for suffering the consequences of one's actions or fate, touching on a sense of inescapable burden.

1. (văn chương, cũ) Ties of misfortune