Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Full of obstacles and difficult to traverse: Describes terrain, roads, or paths that are dangerous, rugged, and hard to travel through due to natural features like steep slopes, cliffs, or rough ground.
   • Perilous and arduous: Characterizes a journey or route that is not only physically challenging but also potentially dangerous.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Đường lên núi rất hiểm trở. (The mountain path is very rugged and perilous.)
  • Họ đã vượt qua một đoạn đường hiểm trở để đến được ngôi làng. (They traversed a treacherous stretch of road to reach the village.)
  • Địa hình hiểm trở khiến việc vận chuyển gặp nhiều khó khăn. (The treacherous terrain made transportation very difficult.)

Advanced Usage

• Used figuratively: While primarily describing physical geography, it can be used metaphorically to describe a difficult and obstacle-filled process.
  • Con đường sự nghiệp của anh ấy không hiểm trở như nhiều người nghĩ. (His career path is not as fraught with difficulties as many people think.)

Variants and Related Words

• Hiểm (adj): Dangerous, perilous. Often used in compounds but can stand alone to mean "dangerous."
• Trở ngại (n): Obstacle, hindrance. A noun for the obstacles that make something "hiểm trở."
• Gian nan (adj): Arduous, full of hardship. A close synonym focusing on the difficulty rather than the physical danger of the terrain.

Synonyms

• Khúc khuỷu: Winding, twisting (often for roads). Emphasizes many bends and turns.
• Cheo leo: Precipitous, perilously steep. Emphasizes height and steepness.
• Nguy hiểm: Dangerous. A more general term for danger, not specific to terrain.

Related Phrases and Idioms

• Đường đi lối lại hiểm trở: A phrase meaning "the routes and paths are treacherous."
  • Vùng này đường đi lối lại hiểm trở, ít người lui tới. (This area has treacherous routes, so few people come and go.)
• Vượt qua chặng đường hiểm trở: To overcome a perilous/difficult stretch of the journey. Can be used literally or figuratively.
  • Chúng tôi đã cùng nhau vượt qua chặng đường hiểm trở nhất. (We overcame the most perilous part of the journey together.)

1. Full of obstacles and difficult of access