khốn quẫn
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adjective:
- Desperately poor; in great want: Describes a state of extreme poverty or financial hardship where one has exhausted all means of coping or finding a solution.
- In dire straits; in distress: Refers to a situation of severe difficulty or trouble, often encompassing both material lack and mental anguish.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Gia đình anh ấy đang lâm vào cảnh khốn quẫn. (His family has fallen into a state of desperate poverty.)
- Sau trận dịch, nhiều người buôn bán nhỏ trở nên khốn quẫn. (After the pandemic, many small traders became desperately poor.)
- Họ cảm thấy vô cùng khốn quẫn vì không có lối thoát. (They felt utterly in dire straits because there was no way out.)
Advanced Usage
- The term "khốn quẫn" often implies a prolonged, entrenched state of hardship that affects one's ability to find a way out. It is stronger than simply being poor () and carries a connotation of being trapped in that condition.
Variants and Related Words
- Khốn khổ (adj): Miserable, wretched; often focuses more on general suffering and misfortune.
- Cuộc sống khốn khổ của những người vô gia cư. (The wretched life of the homeless.)
- Túng quẫn (adj): Hard up, in financial difficulties; a close synonym, sometimes used interchangeably with .
- Công ty đang trong thời kỳ túng quẫn. (The company is in a period of being hard up.)
Synonyms
- Destitute: Lacking the means to provide for oneself.
- Penniless: Having no money.
- Impoverished: Reduced to poverty.
- In dire straits: In a very difficult and worrying situation.
Related Idioms
- Đường cùng khốn quẫn: A dead end of utter desperation.
- Họ đã đi đến đường cùng khốn quẫn. (They have reached a dead end of utter desperation.)
- Khốn đốn khốn quẫn: An intensified phrase emphasizing extreme hardship and distress.
- Năm đói, dân làng sống trong cảnh khốn đốn khốn quẫn. (During the famine year, the villagers lived in a state of extreme hardship and distress.)
- Desperately poor, In great want