Definition

1. Phrase (Cụm từ):
   • To have the heart to do something (negative): Expresses the speaker's inability or unwillingness to bring themselves to do something, often due to moral qualms, compassion, or emotional difficulty. It implies the action is too cruel, harsh, or painful to carry out.
   • How could one possibly...?: Used rhetorically to question the very possibility of performing an action, emphasizing its perceived wrongness or the speaker's emotional resistance.

Usage Examples

• Phrase:
  • Nỡ nào giết hại đồng bào. (One could not have the heart to massacre one's fellow-countrymen.)
  • Nỡ nào bỏ mặc đứa trẻ khóc một mình. (How could I possibly leave the child crying alone?)
  • Anh ấy nỡ nào nói lời chia tay qua điện thoại. (He couldn't bring himself to say goodbye over the phone.)

Advanced Usage

• "Nỡ lòng nào": A synonymous variant with identical meaning and usage.

  • Nỡ lòng nào từ chối lời cầu xin của con. (How could a parent have the heart to refuse their child's plea?)

• Rhetorical Question Structure: The phrase is almost exclusively used in rhetorical questions or negative statements to convey strong emotional reluctance.

  • Làm sao tôi nỡ nào làm thế? (How could I possibly do that?)

Variants and Related Words

• Nỡ lòng nào (phrase): Synonymous with "nỡ nào".
• Nỡ tâm (verb, literary): To harden one's heart, to be cruel enough to do something. (Note: This is a separate word, not a direct variant of the phrase "nỡ nào").
• Nỡ tay (verb, literary): Similar to "nỡ tâm", to have the cruelty to act.

Synonyms

• Đành lòng (verb): To resign oneself to doing something (often reluctantly, but implies eventual acceptance, unlike "nỡ nào" which implies refusal).
• Đang tâm (verb, literary): To deliberately and heartlessly do something (carries a stronger negative connotation of cruelty).

Related Idioms

• "Nỡ nào đành": A poetic or emphatic combination, reinforcing the struggle of having to accept a difficult action.
  • Nỡ nào đành lòng xa cách. (How could I bear to be parted?)

1. Have the heart to do something
   • Nỡ nào giết hại đồng bào
     One could not have the heart to massacre one's fellow-countrymen
   • nỡ lòng nào như nỡ nào