Definition

Verb: - To shorten one's lifespan; to bring someone's death nearer: The act of causing a person's life expectancy to decrease, often due to harmful habits, conditions, or actions. - To take years out of someone's life: To reduce the total number of years a person is expected to live.

Usage

The verb giảm thọ is used to describe the negative impact of specific factors on human longevity. It is typically used in a formal or serious context when discussing health, lifestyle, or environmental dangers. - It often follows a subject that is the cause (e.g., a habit, a substance, a condition) and precedes an object that is the affected person or group. - It can be used in the passive voice (bị giảm thọ) to emphasize the person whose life is shortened.

Usage Examples

• Active Voice:
  • Hút thuốc lá chủ động làm giảm thọ của người hút. (Active smoking actively shortens the lifespan of the smoker.)
  • Ô nhiễm không khí nghiêm trọng có thể giảm thọ cư dân thành phố. (Severe air pollution can take years out of the lives of city residents.)
• Passive Voice:
  • Những người làm việc trong môi trường độc hại mà không có đồ bảo hộ dễ bị giảm thọ. (People who work in toxic environments without protective gear are prone to have their lives shortened.)

Advanced Usage

• Causative Structure: The word can be part of a causative structure where an agent explicitly causes the reduction.
  • Lối sống tĩnh tại ít vận động làm giảm thọ con người. (A sedentary lifestyle causes a shortening of human life.)
• Figurative Use (Rare): In a non-literal, exaggerated sense, it can describe something extremely tedious or frustrating.
  • Buổi họp kéo dài đó thật sự giảm thọ. (That prolonged meeting was truly life-shortening.)

Variants and Related Words

• Giảm (verb): To reduce, to decrease. This is the root verb.
• Thọ (noun): Lifespan, longevity.
• Tử vong sớm (noun phrase): Early death. (A result, not the action).
• Đoản thọ (adjective): Short-lived. (Describes a state, not an action).

Synonyms

• Rút ngắn tuổi thọ: To cut short one's lifespan. (A very close synonym).
• Abréger la vie (French): To shorten life. (As noted in the Vietnamese-French reference).

Related Phrases and Idioms

• Giảm thọ vì lo lắng: To have one's life shortened by worry.
  • Anh ấy cứ lo lắng quá mức, rồi sẽ giảm thọ vì lo lắng mất. (He worries excessively; he'll end up shortening his life due to worry.)
• Đồ giảm thọ: A life-shortening thing (often used colloquially for something very unhealthy or stressful).
  • Công việc áp lực cao này đúng là đồ giảm thọ. (This high-pressure job is truly a life-shortener.)

1. Shorten one's life-span, bring someone's death nearer, take year out of someone's life
   • Rượu và thuốc phiện làm giảm thọ người nghiện
     Alcohol and opium bring the addict's death nearer