mạt đời
Definition
- 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.)