Definition

1. Adjective:
   • In strained circumstances; hard up: Describes a state of significant financial difficulty or poverty, where one lacks the basic necessities of life.
   • Critical; grave; dire: Describes a situation that is extremely difficult, tight, or precarious, often with a sense of urgency or severity.

Usage Examples

• Adjective (financial):
  • Đời sống anh ta nghèo ngặt lắm. (His life is very hard up; he is in strained circumstances.)
• Adjective (situational):
  • Tình thế nghèo ngặt. (The situation is critical/dire.)

Advanced Usage

• The term often conveys a stronger, more severe degree of hardship than the standalone word "nghèo" (poor). It implies being squeezed or constricted by circumstances.

Variants and Related Words

• Ngặt nghèo (adj): This is a closely related and more commonly used variant with a similar dual meaning: 1) Financially difficult, and 2) Strict, stringent, or critical (e.g., - stringent conditions).

Synonyms

• Financially: Destitute, impoverished, penniless, in dire straits.
• Situationally: Critical, grave, desperate, precarious, tight.

Related Idioms

• Đói rách nghèo ngặt: An idiom emphasizing extreme poverty and destitution.
  • Gia đình ấy sống trong cảnh đói rách nghèo ngặt. (That family lives in utter destitution.)

1. In strained circumstances, harn up
   • Đời sống anh ta nghèo ngặt lắm
     He is in traitened circumstance; he is hard up
   • như ngặt nghèo