hết tiệt
Definition
- Adverb:
- Completely, utterly, entirely: Used to emphasize the absolute or total nature of an action or state, often implying a negative or extreme outcome. It conveys a sense of being completely finished, gone, or devoid of something.
- To be completely devoid of; to have none left: Indicates a total lack or exhaustion of something.
Usage Examples
- Adverb:
- Cửa hàng đã đóng cửa hết tiệt. (The store has closed down completely.)
- Nó quên hết tiệt những gì đã học. (He forgot utterly everything he had learned.)
- Tôi hết tiệt tiền rồi. (I am completely out of money / I have no money left at all.)
Advanced Usage
- "hết tiệt" as an intensifier: Often used in colloquial Southern Vietnamese speech to add strong emphasis. It can sometimes carry a negative or frustrated connotation.
- Công việc đó khó hết tiệt! (That job is utterly difficult!)
- Đường xá kẹt xe hết tiệt vào giờ cao điểm. (The roads are completely congested during rush hour.)
Variants and Related Words
- Hết: (Verb/Adverb) To finish, to run out, to end. Less emphatic than "hết tiệt".
- Sữa hết rồi. (The milk is finished.)
- Tiệt: (Adjective/Adverb) Can mean "cut off", "severed", or "completely". Rarely used alone in modern speech but appears in compounds like "hết tiệt" or "tiệt trùng" (to sterilize).
- Hết sạch: (Adverb) Completely gone, all used up. A close synonym.
- Hàng bán hết sạch. (The goods are sold out completely.)
Synonyms
- Hoàn toàn: Completely, wholly (more formal/neutral).
- Tuyệt đối: Absolutely.
- Sạch trơn: Completely empty/cleaned out (often for physical spaces or resources).
Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)
- Hết trơn hết trọi: A more vivid and emphatic colloquial phrase with the same meaning as "hết tiệt".
- Kho hàng hết trơn hết trọi. (The warehouse is completely emptied out.)
Related Idioms
- Hết tiệt is itself often used in an idiomatic, emphatic way. There is no direct common English idiom, but its function is similar to adding "at all", "whatsoever", or "completely and utterly" to a sentence for strong negation or emphasis.
- Nó không biết gì hết tiệt. (He doesn't know anything at all.)