Definition

1. Noun:
   • Being a victim of a gross injustice: Refers to the state or condition of suffering a severe, profound, and often tragic wrong or injustice. It carries a connotation of deep, undeserved suffering.
   • A grievance or wrong: Can denote the specific unjust act or the resulting burden of resentment and suffering borne by the victim.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Người dân thấp cổ bé họng thường phải chịu nhiều oan khiên. (The lowly and powerless often have to endure many gross injustices.)
  • Câu chuyện kể về những oan khiên mà bà phải gánh chịu suốt đời. (The story tells of the grievous wrongs she had to bear throughout her life.)
  • Hồn ma ấy hiện về vì còn vương nặng oan khiên chưa được giải. (That ghost appears because it is still burdened by an unredressed injustice.)

Advanced Usage

• "mang oan khiên" / "gánh oan khiên": to bear/carry the burden of an injustice.
  • Ông ấy mang oan khiên nhiều năm trước khi được minh oan. (He bore the burden of injustice for many years before being exonerated.)
• "giải oan khiên": to redress/resolve a grievous wrong.
  • Phiên tòa lịch sử nhằm giải oan khiên cho các nạn nhân. (The historic trial aimed to redress the grievous wrongs suffered by the victims.)

Variants and Related Words

• Oan (noun/adjective): Injustice; wrong; unjustly accused. A more common and broader term.
  • bị oan (to be wronged/accused unjustly)
• Oan ức (noun): A feeling of deep resentment and grievance due to injustice. Emphasizes the pent-up bitterness.
  • chứa chất oan ức (to harbor pent-up grievances)
• Oan trái (noun): Often implies a karmic injustice or a wrong from a past life causing present suffering.
  • mối oan trái tiền kiếp (a karmic injustice from a past life)

Synonyms

• Bất công (noun): Injustice. A general, modern term without the deep, tragic nuance of .
• Hàm oan (verb/noun): To be wrongfully accused; a wrongful accusation. Focuses more on the false accusation itself.
• Nỗi oan (noun): The sorrow/plight of being wronged.

Notes on Usage

• Register: is a literary and somewhat archaic term. It is used in formal writing, literature, historical contexts, or for dramatic emphasis. In everyday modern speech, or are more common.
• Connotation: The word evokes a sense of profound, tragic, and often longstanding suffering due to an unfair fate or powerful oppressors. It implies a weight or burden ( can suggest a shield or burden) carried by the victim.
• Cultural Context: Frequently appears in classical Vietnamese literature, folk tales, and stories about ghosts or spirits seeking justice, reflecting traditional beliefs about cosmic balance and the need to resolve injustices.

1. (cũ)Being victim of a gross injustice