nghiệt ngã
Definition
- Adjective:
- Cruel, harsh, merciless: Describes a situation, circumstance, or reality that is extremely severe, unkind, and offers no relief or compassion. It often implies an unforgiving and pitiless quality.
- Bitter, grim: Refers to a harsh truth or a reality that is difficult to accept due to its severity and lack of fairness.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Cuộc sống đôi khi thật nghiệt ngã. (Life can sometimes be truly cruel.)
- Đó là một sự thật nghiệt ngã mà anh ấy phải đối mặt. (That is a grim truth he has to face.)
- Chiến tranh mang đến những hoàn cảnh nghiệt ngã. (War brings harsh circumstances.)
Advanced Usage
- Used primarily to describe abstract concepts like fate, life, reality, competition, or truth, rather than a person's direct actions. A person can be described as causing a "nghiệt ngã" situation.
- Quy luật đào thải trong tự nhiên là vô cùng nghiệt ngã. (The law of natural selection is utterly merciless.)
Variants and Related Words
- Nghiệt (adj): An older, more literary synonym meaning cruel, harsh, or severe. Often found in compound words or fixed phrases.
- Số phận nghiệt ngã. (A cruel fate.)
Synonyms
- Cruel: Willfully causing pain or suffering.
- Harsh: Unpleasantly rough or severe.
- Merciless: Showing no mercy.
- Grim: Unrelenting, depressing, or forbidding.
Related Idioms
- Sự thật nghiệt ngã: A harsh/bitter truth.
- Anh ấy buộc phải chấp nhận sự thật nghiệt ngã. (He was forced to accept the harsh truth.)
- Cuộc đời nghiệt ngã: A cruel life.
- Họ đã trải qua một cuộc đời nghiệt ngã. (They endured a cruel life.)