Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Perilous / Dangerous: Describes a situation or condition that involves serious and immediate danger, risk, or difficulty.
   • Hazardous / Treacherous: Characterizes circumstances that are unsafe and full of hidden risks or threats.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Hành trình vượt núi đầy gian nguy. (The mountain crossing journey is full of peril.)
  • Họ đã sống sót qua một tình huống cực kỳ gian nguy. (They survived an extremely hazardous situation.)
  • Công việc của lính cứu hỏa luôn tiềm ẩn sự gian nguy. (A firefighter's job always harbors danger.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is often used in formal, literary, or dramatic contexts to emphasize grave danger, more so than the more common word "nguy hiểm."
• It can describe both physical danger and metaphorical peril, such as a precarious political or financial situation.

Variants and Related Words

• Nguy hiểm (adj): Dangerous, hazardous. This is the more common, general synonym.
• Hiểm nguy (adj): Perilous, dangerous. A less common variant with the same meaning as "gian nguy."
• Hiểm nghèo (adj): Critical, grave (often for illness or situations); desperately dangerous.

Synonyms

• Perilous: Full of imminent danger.
• Hazardous: Involving risk or danger.
• Treacherous: Dangerously unstable and unpredictable.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Bước đường gian nguy: A perilous path or journey.
  • Anh ấy đã chọn một bước đường gian nguy. (He chose a perilous path.)
• Phút giây gian nguy: A moment of grave danger.
  • Trong phút giây gian nguy, cô ấy vẫn giữ bình tĩnh. (In the moment of grave danger, she remained calm.)