Definition

1. Interjection:

   • A curse expressing anger, contempt, or extreme frustration: Used to damn someone or something, expressing strong negative emotion.
   • An exclamation of condemnation: Used to label someone as vile, wretched, or despicable.

2. Adjective (Attributive):

   • Damned, wretched, despicable: Used before a noun to describe someone or something as contemptible or causing great trouble.

Usage Examples

• Interjection:

  • Khốn kiếp! Hắn lại đến rồi! (Damn it! He's here again!)
  • Khốn kiếp! Tôi đã làm hỏng mọi thứ. (God damn it! I've ruined everything.)

• Adjective:

  • Cái máy tính khốn kiếp này lại hỏng rồi. (This damned computer is broken again.)
  • Tên trộm khốn kiếp đã lấy đi ví của tôi. (That wretched thief took my wallet.)

Advanced Usage

• Used as an intensifier for negative descriptions: It strongly amplifies the negative quality of the noun it modifies.

  • Một kẻ khốn kiếp (a damned/despicable wretch)
  • Công việc khốn kiếp (a god-awful job)

• Often appears in direct insults: Commonly used in heated arguments or expressions of deep resentment.

  • Đồ khốn kiếp! (You bastard!/You damned fool!)

Variants and Related Words

• Khốn nạn (adj/interj): Wretched, miserable; also used as a curse or insult. Similar in strength and usage to "khốn kiếp."
• Đồ khốn (n): A wretch, a despicable person. A slightly shorter, still strong insult.

Synonyms

• Chết tiệt (interj/adj): Damn it, damned. (Slightly less severe)
• Tổ sư (in compounds like "đồ tổ sư"): A strong insult meaning "ancestral" scoundrel.
• Đáng nguyền rủa (adj): Cursed, damnable. (More formal description)

Related Phrases

• Khốn khổ (adj): Miserable, distressed, suffering. Focuses more on pitiable hardship rather than contempt.
• Kiếp khốn nạn (n phrase): A wretched life or existence.

Notes on Usage

• Tone: Extremely strong and offensive. It is a severe curse and should be used with extreme caution, if at all, in polite or formal contexts.
• Context: Most common in informal speech during moments of high anger, in literature for dramatic effect, or in direct insults.
• Grammar: As an interjection, it stands alone. As an adjective, it precedes the noun it modifies (e.g., - the damned person).

1. God-damned
   • Cái thằng khốn kiếp ấy đâu rồi
     Where is that god-damned fellow