Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Unhappy; miserable; suffering: Describes a state of physical hardship, emotional distress, or severe poverty.
   • Wretched; pitiful: Describes something of very poor quality or in a lamentable condition.

2. Noun:

   • Width; size (of fabric, paper, etc.): Refers to the standard horizontal measurement of a roll or sheet of material.
   • Stanza; verse: In poetry or music, refers to a distinct, structured section or unit.
   • Suffering; hardship: Refers to the state or experience of pain, misery, or difficulty itself.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Cuộc sống của họ trước đây rất khổ. (Their life before was very hard/miserable.)
  • Chiếc xe khổ quá, không thể sửa được. (That bicycle is too wretched, it can't be repaired.)
• Noun:
  • Tôi cần mua vải khổ rộng. (I need to buy fabric of a wide width.)
  • Bài hát này có ba khổ. (This song has three verses.)
  • Anh ấy đã trải qua nhiều khổ đau. (He has endured much suffering.)

Advanced Usage

• "khổ sở": (adjective) distressed, tormented; describes a state of deep physical or mental discomfort.
  • Cô ấy khổ sở vì bệnh tật. (She is distressed due to illness.)
• "khổ hạnh": (noun) asceticism; the practice of severe self-discipline for religious reasons.
  • Nhà sư sống đời sống khổ hạnh. (The monk lives an ascetic life.)

Variants and Related Words

• Cực khổ (adj): extremely hard, arduous; describes intense hardship.
  • Công việc cực khổ nhưng thu nhập thấp. (The work is arduous but the income is low.)
• Khổ đau (n/adj): pain, sorrow; suffering.
  • Không ai muốn khổ đau. (No one wants suffering.)
• Khổ giấy (n): paper size.
  • Văn phòng dùng khổ giấy A4. (The office uses A4 paper size.)

Synonyms

• Adjective: Miserable, wretched, hard, difficult, pitiful.
• Noun: Width, dimension, stanza, verse, suffering, hardship, distress.

Related Idioms

• Khổ tâm: to be worried sick, to be deeply troubled in mind.
  • Chuyện của con khiến mẹ khổ tâm. (The child's matter makes the mother worried sick.)
• Khổ nạn: calamity, tribulation; a period of great suffering.
  • Vùng đó thường xuyên chịu khổ nạn vì thiên tai. (That area often endures calamity due to natural disasters.)
• Khổ trước sướng sau: Suffer first, enjoy later (equivalent to "No pain, no gain").
  • Hãy cố gắng, khổ trước sướng sau. (Keep trying, suffer first and enjoy later.)

adj

1. unhappy; miserable

noun

1. width; size