Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Suffering undeserved misfortune: Describes a state of deep distress, hardship, or bitterness that is unjustly borne, often due to false accusation, misunderstanding, or unfair circumstances.

2. Noun (conceptual):

   • Undeserved suffering / Unjust bitterness: Refers to the condition or experience of misery that is not merited by one's own actions.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • Bà ấy có một cuộc đời thật oan khổ. (She has had a truly wretched life of undeserved suffering.)
  • Vẻ mặt oan khổ của anh ấy khiến mọi người thương cảm. (His look of unjust bitterness made everyone feel pity.)

• Noun (conceptual):

  • Họ phải chịu đựng bao oan khổ. (They had to endure so much undeserved misery.)

Advanced Usage

• The term often carries a strong emotional and moral weight, implying innocence victimized by fate or injustice. It is commonly used in narratives about fate, historical grievances, or personal tragedies.

Variants and Related Words

• Oan ức (n): A sense of being wronged or unjustly accused; a grievance.
  • Anh ta chết với nhiều oan ức. (He died with many unredressed grievances.)
• Khổ đau (adj/n): Pain and suffering (more general, without the inherent connotation of being undeserved).
  • Khổ đau là một phần của cuộc sống. (Suffering is a part of life.)

Synonyms

• Undeserved misery: Misfortune that is not earned.
• Unjust suffering: Distress caused by unfairness.
• Wrongful hardship.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Mang tiếng oan khổ: To bear the reputation/reproach of undeserved suffering.
  • Cô ấy mang tiếng oan khổ cả đời vì lời đồn thổi. (She bore the reproach of undeserved suffering her whole life because of rumors.)
• Chết oan khổ: To die a wretched/unjust death.
  • Người lính trẻ chết oan khổ trong một cuộc phục kích. (The young soldier died a wretched death in an ambush.)

1. Undeserved misfortune