Definition

1. Idiomatic phrase:
   • To be at the end of one's tether; to be out of options: This phrase describes a state where one has exhausted all possible solutions, resources, or strategies and can do nothing more. It conveys a sense of helplessness and resignation.
   • To be checkmated (in chess): In a literal sense, it refers to the situation in chess where the king is in check and has no legal move left, meaning the game is lost.

Usage Examples

• Idiomatic meaning: Tôi đã thử mọi cách, giờ thì hết nước rồi. (I've tried every way; now I'm at the end of my tether.) Công ty hết nước không thể tiếp tục kinh doanh. (The company is out of options and cannot continue its business.)

• Literal chess meaning: Chỉ còn một nước đi nữa là anh hết nước. (Just one more move and you'll be checkmated.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase is often used to express ultimate defeat or a dead-end situation where no further action is possible. It implies that all "moves" or plans have been tried and failed.

Variants and Related Words

• Hết cách: To have no way left; to be at a loss. (I have no way left to help him.)
• Bó tay: To throw up one's hands (in surrender or helplessness). (With this situation, I can only throw up my hands.)
• Bất lực: Powerless; helpless. (The police felt powerless in the case.)

Synonyms

• Đường cùng: A dead end; the end of the road.
• Cùng đường: To be at the end of the road; to have nowhere to turn.
• Kiệt sức (in the context of resources or ideas): Exhausted; depleted.

Related Idioms

• Hết nước hết cái: A more emphatic form meaning to have absolutely nothing left, no resources or options whatsoever. (After the flood, many families had absolutely nothing left.)
• Cạn kiệt: To be depleted; to run dry (often used for resources). (The reserve stock has been depleted.)

Notes

• The phrase "hết nước" is informal and vivid. Its origin is from the game of chess ("nước" meaning a move), making it analogous to the English idiom "to be checkmated" in both literal and figurative senses. It is commonly used in spoken Vietnamese.

1. Be at the end of one's tether
   • Đành chịu vì hết nước rồi
     To give up, being at the end of one's tether