hơi tử khí

Definition

1. Noun:
   • The breath of a dead person; deathly breath: A term describing the breath or exhalation believed to come from a deceased individual. It often carries a superstitious or folkloric connotation of being an ominous or unhealthy vapor associated with death.
   • An aura or atmosphere of death: Can figuratively describe a pervasive feeling or environment that is morbid, lifeless, or portending death.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Căn phòng cũ kỹ có mùi như hơi tử khí. (The old room smelled like the breath of a dead person.)
  • Sau trận dịch, cả ngôi làng bao trùm một bầu không khí như hơi tử khí. (After the epidemic, an atmosphere like a deathly breath enveloped the whole village.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is primarily used in literary, descriptive, or superstitious contexts to evoke a strong sense of decay, doom, or the supernatural. It is not common in everyday technical or medical language.

Variants and Related Words

• Tử khí (n): Deathly aura; miasma. A more general term for a deadly or poisonous atmosphere.
  • Tử khí bao trùm chiến trường. (A deathly aura covered the battlefield.)

Synonyms

• Miasma: A noxious atmosphere or influence, often associated with disease and death.
• Deathly aura: An atmosphere or emanation suggestive of death.
• Stench of death: A strong, unpleasant smell associated with decay and death.

Related Idioms

• Mang hơi tử khí: To carry/bear the breath of death. Used to describe someone or something that seems to bring or be surrounded by misfortune or death.
  • Kẻ phản bội ấy mang theo hơi tử khí đến cho cả nhóm. (That traitor brought the breath of death to the whole group.)