họa
Definition
Noun:
- Calamity / Disaster: A great misfortune or tragic event that causes significant suffering, loss, or destruction.
- Risk / Possibility: Used at the beginning of a clause to introduce a hypothetical situation that is considered very unlikely to occur in reality; a mere possibility or "if at all."
Verb:
- To compose a matching poem: To respond to a poem by composing another following its rhyme scheme and meter.
- To join in harmony / To echo: To join in or harmonize with a sound or action, such as laughter or music.
- (Idiomatic) To paint / To draw: To create a picture or painting.
Usage Examples
- Noun (Calamity):
- Chiến tranh là một họa lớn cho nhân loại. (War is a great calamity for humanity.)
- Noun (Possibility):
- Họa may thì anh ấy mới đồng ý. (He might agree, but it's very unlikely.)
- Verb (To compose a poem):
- Nhà thơ ấy họa lại bài thơ của tôi. (That poet composed a matching poem in response to mine.)
- Verb (To echo):
- Một em bé cười, rồi cả lớp họa theo. (One child laughed, and then the whole class joined in.)
- Verb (To paint):
- Ông ấy họa một bức chân dung. (He painted a portrait.)
Advanced Usage
- "vẽ họa": This compound means "to draw a picture" and emphasizes the act of creating visual art.
- Cô ấy vẽ họa cảnh biển rất đẹp. (She draws very beautiful seascapes.)
Variants and Related Words
- Hoạ sĩ (n): Painter, artist.
- Hoạ sĩ đó rất nổi tiếng. (That painter is very famous.)
- Hoạ tiết (n): Pattern, decorative motif.
- Hoạ tiết trên váy rất tinh xảo. (The patterns on the dress are very intricate.)
- Tai họa (n): Catastrophe, disaster. A stronger synonym for the noun meaning "calamity."
- Trận động đất là một tai họa. (The earthquake was a catastrophe.)
Synonyms
- Calamity: Disaster, catastrophe, tragedy.
- Risk: Possibility, chance (remote).
- To paint: To draw, to depict.
- To echo: To join in, to chime in.
Related Idioms
- Hoạ vô đơn chí: Misfortune never comes alone. (Lit: Calamities do not arrive singly.)
- Ô tô hỏng, rồi bị ốm, đúng là họa vô đơn chí. (The car broke down, then he got sick—misfortune never comes alone.)
- Trong họa có phúc / Trong cái rủi có cái may: A blessing in disguise. (Lit: Within calamity there is fortune.)
- Bị mất việc, nhưng sau đó anh tìm được công việc tốt hơn, đúng là trong họa có phúc. (He lost his job, but then found a better one—a true blessing in disguise.)