Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Wretched for life / Incurably lowly: Describes a person whose entire life is, or is predicted to be, characterized by persistent poverty, failure, or moral baseness, with no hope of improvement. It implies a permanent, ingrained state of wretchedness.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Hắn ta thật là mạt đời. (He is truly wretched for life.)
  • Số phận mạt đời khiến họ không có lối thoát. (An incurably lowly fate left them with no way out.)
  • Cứ ăn chơi thế này thì mạt đời. (If you keep living recklessly like this, you'll be doomed to a wretched life.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is often used as a harsh, fatalistic judgment or prediction about a person's entire life trajectory, emphasizing a lack of redemption or progress.

Variants and Related Words

• Mạt kiếp (adj): Wretched for an entire lifetime or incarnation; shares a similar meaning but can carry a more spiritual or karmic connotation.
  • Sống ác độc sẽ mang thân phận mạt kiếp. (Living cruelly will bring a wretched incarnation.)

Synonyms

• Hopelessly wretched: In a state of extreme misery with no prospect of change.
• Irredeemably base: Permanently lacking in moral character or social standing.

Related Idioms

• Mạt đời mạt kiếp: An intensified phrase emphasizing a wretched state lasting for this life and beyond.
  • Kẻ phản bội bị nguyền rủa mạt đời mạt kiếp. (The traitor was cursed to be wretched for this life and the next.)