Definition

1. Verb phrase (slang, often derogatory):
   • To die, to be dead and gone: Used to express that someone has died, often with a negative or dismissive connotation, implying the end of a wretched or despised existence. It emphasizes finality and removal.
   • To be finished, to be done for (figuratively): Can be used hyperbolically to mean someone's situation, reputation, or prospects are completely ruined, as if they were "dead" in a metaphorical sense.

Usage Examples

• Literal (death):
  • Tên tội phạm nguy hiểm đó cuối cùng cũng đã hết đời. (That dangerous criminal is finally dead and gone.)
  • Thế là hết đời một kẻ phản bội. (And so, a traitor was dead and gone.)
• Figurative (ruin):
  • Công ty phá sản, sự nghiệp của ông ta coi như hết đời. (The company went bankrupt, his career is as good as finished.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase carries a strong emotional charge, typically relief, contempt, or schadenfreude. It is not used in polite or neutral contexts (e.g., for a loved one).
• It often appears in narratives, news about criminals, or in exclamations to mark the definitive end of something negative.
• Structure: Often used with "thế là", "đã", or "cũng" to emphasize the concluded outcome.
  • Thế là hết đời! (That's the end of him!/He's done for!)

Variants and Related Words

• Chết (v): To die (neutral term).
• Từ trần, qua đời (v): To pass away (polite, formal).
• Băng hà (v): To pass away (used for royalty).
• Toi đời (v, slang): To die; to be ruined (similar derogatory force).
• Hết số (v, slang): To have one's number up; to be fated to die.

Synonyms

• Chết (v): To die.
• Tắt thở (v): To breathe one's last.
• Bỏ mạng (v, slang): To kick the bucket, to die (often in a context of misfortune).

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Hết đời hết kiếp: An intensified form meaning completely and utterly finished, for this life and beyond.
  • Tên lừa đảo đó giờ hết đời hết kiếp rồi. (That swindler is completely and utterly finished now.)

Related Idioms

• Hết cách: To be out of options (different meaning, but shares the finality of "hết").
• Đời cha ăn mặn, đời con khát nước: The sins of the father are visited upon the sons (uses "đời" meaning lifetime/generation).

1. (nghĩa xấu) Be dead and gone
   • Thế là hết đời tên phản quốc
     So the traitor was dead and gone