Definition

1. Adjective (Descriptive State):
   • Worrisome, troubled, distressed: Describes a state of mental exhaustion, anxiety, or deep preoccupation caused by excessive thinking, worrying, or intellectual labor. It implies the mind is being overworked or strained.
   • Toiling mentally: The act of laboring or exerting great mental effort, often under stress or difficulty.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Sau nhiều ngày lao tâm suy nghĩ, anh ấy trông rất mệt mỏi. (After many days of troubled thinking, he looks very tired.)
  • Công việc mới khiến cô ấy lao tâm khổ tứ. (The new job causes her great mental distress and sorrow.)
  • Đừng lao tâm quá về chuyện đó. (Don't trouble your mind too much about that.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is very frequently used in the fixed, four-syllable idiom "lao tâm khổ tứ". This idiom intensifies the meaning to express profound mental and emotional suffering, encompassing both worry ("lao tâm") and sorrowful calculation/thought ("khổ tứ").
  • Việc kinh doanh thua lỗ làm ông ấy lao tâm khổ tứ. (The business loss caused him immense mental anguish and sorrow.)

Variants and Related Words

• Lao tâm khổ tứ (idiomatic phrase): To be deeply worried and distressed; to suffer mental torment.
• Lao lực (v/phr): To labor physically and mentally; to exert great effort. (Often used together as "lao tâm lao lực").

Synonyms

• Worrisome: Causing anxiety.
• Preoccupied: Deeply absorbed in thought, often worriedly.
• Distressed: Suffering from anxiety, sorrow, or pain.
• To be mentally strained: To be under mental stress or pressure.

Related Idioms

• Lao tâm khổ tứ: As described above, the primary and most common idiom associated with this word, meaning to be deeply troubled and sorrowful in mind.
• Lao tâm lao lực: To toil both mentally and physically; to work very hard with both mind and body.

1. worrisome, troubled