Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Rotten, decayed: Refers to organic matter that has decomposed, often due to the action of bacteria or fungi, becoming soft, weak, and unusable.
   • Corrupt, degenerate: Describes systems, institutions, morals, or individuals that are morally bankrupt, dishonest, and in a state of advanced decline.

Usage Examples

• Adjective (Physical Decay):

  • Những khúc gỗ mục nát nằm rải rác trong rừng. (The rotten logs lay scattered in the forest.)
  • Cánh cửa gỗ đã mục nát vì mưa nắng. (The wooden door had decayed due to sun and rain.)

• Adjective (Moral/Systemic Corruption):

  • Bộ máy chính quyền đó đã trở nên mục nát. (That government apparatus had become corrupt.)
  • Những tệ nạn là dấu hiệu của một xã hội mục nát. (Those social evils are signs of a degenerate society.)

Advanced Usage

• Used metaphorically to describe abstract concepts that are fundamentally unsound or ruined.
  • Những tư tưởng mục nát cần phải được loại bỏ. (Decayed ideologies must be eliminated.)

Variants and Related Words

• Mục (adj): To be decayed, worm-eaten, or rotten (often used for wood or books). Can imply the beginning stage of "mục nát."

  • Tủ sách cũ đã bị mục. (The old bookshelf had become worm-eaten.)

• Thối nát (adj): Synonymous with "mục nát," emphasizing a state of being both rotten and corrupt. Often carries a stronger negative connotation.

  • Một chế độ thối nát. (A rotten regime.)

Synonyms

• Rotten/Decayed: Putrid, decomposed.
• Corrupt: Depraved, debased, degenerate.

Related Idioms

• Mục như tương: (As rotten as fermented bean paste) – An idiom emphasizing something is completely rotten or corrupt beyond repair.
  • Bộ máy ấy mục như tương, không thể cứu vãn. (That machinery is rotten to the core, beyond saving.)

1. Rotten, decayed
2. Corrupt