lắng đắng
Definition
- Adjective:
- Filled with difficulties and setbacks; arduous and troublesome: Describes a situation, process, or period of life that is persistently difficult, full of obstacles, and marked by repeated hardships or failures.
- To be down on one's luck; to have a rough time: Describes a state of experiencing continuous misfortune or adversity.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Cuộc sống của họ sau chiến tranh thật lắng đắng. (Their life after the war was truly filled with difficulties.)
- Công việc kinh doanh lắng đắng mãi mới có kết quả. (The business was arduous for a long time before seeing results.)
- Nó đã trải qua một thời tuổi trẻ lắng đắng. (He went through a youth marked by hardships.)
Advanced Usage
- The word lắng đắng is considered literary and is used more in written language or formal speech to convey a sense of prolonged, wearying struggle. It is stronger and more evocative than the more common synonym khó khăn (difficult).
Variants and Related Words
- Lận đận (adj): This is a very close synonym, also meaning troubled, difficult, or marked by misfortune, often used interchangeably with lắng đắng.
- Một cuộc hôn nhân lận đận. (A troubled marriage.)
Synonyms
- Arduous: Involving strenuous effort; difficult and tiring.
- Troublesome: Causing difficulty or annoyance.
- Hard-pressed: Experiencing severe difficulty or distress.
- Down on one's luck: Experiencing a period of misfortune.
Related Idioms
- While lắng đắng itself is not typically part of a fixed idiom, it describes the core sentiment behind many Vietnamese idioms about hardship, such as:
- Ba chìm bảy nổi: (Literally: Three sinkings, seven floatings) Meaning a life full of ups and downs, vicissitudes.
- Sống một cuộc đời ba chìm bảy nổi. (To live a life full of vicissitudes.)