Definition

1. Verb:
   • To resent; to feel resentment against: "Oán" means to harbor a deep-seated feeling of anger, bitterness, or ill will towards someone because of a perceived wrong, injury, or injustice they have caused.
   • To bear a grudge against: It implies holding onto this negative feeling over time.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Cô ấy oán người đã phản bội mình. (She resents the person who betrayed her.)
  • Anh ta oán cha mẹ vì tuổi thơ bất hạnh. (He bears a grudge against his parents for his unhappy childhood.)
  • Dân làng oán bọn cường hào ác bá. (The villagers resent the local tyrants and despots.)

Advanced Usage

• "Oán hận": This is a compound word combining "oán" and "hận" (to hate), intensifying the meaning to "to bitterly resent" or "to hold a deep hatred/grudge."
  • Lòng oán hận ngày càng chồng chất. (The bitterness and resentment kept piling up.)
• "Oán than": To complain resentfully; to grumble with a sense of grievance.
  • Họ chỉ biết oán than mà không hành động. (They only know how to complain resentfully without taking action.)
• "Oán trách": To blame or reproach someone with resentment.
  • Đừng oán trách số phận. (Don't resentfully blame fate.)

Variants and Related Words

• Oán hờn (n/adj): Resentment, rancor; resentful. A strong synonym for lasting bitterness.
  • Giọng nói đầy oán hờn. (A voice full of rancor.)
• Thù oán (n): Enmity, hatred, or a feud stemming from resentment.
  • Mối thù oán giữa hai gia đình. (The feud between the two families.)
• Oán giận (n/v): Anger mixed with resentment.
  • Trong lòng tràn ngập oán giận. (His/her heart was filled with resentful anger.)

Synonyms

• Căm giận: To hate angrily, to detest. Often implies a hotter, more immediate anger compared to the colder, more enduring "oán."
• Căm hờn: To harbor hatred and resentment. Very close in meaning to "oán hờn."
• Ghét: To dislike, to hate. A more general term, less specific about the cause being a personal wrong.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs / Idiomatic Structures)

• "Oán thì trả oán, ân thì trả ân": (Idiom) An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth; to repay resentment with resentment, and kindness with kindness. This classic idiom illustrates the concept of retributive justice based on "oán."
• "Mang lòng oán": To bear resentment in one's heart.
  • Anh ấy mang lòng oán từ ngày đó. (He has borne resentment in his heart since that day.)
• "Chất chứa oán hờn": To accumulate/store up resentment.
  • Nhiều năm chất chứa oán hờn. (Many years of accumulated resentment.)

Related Idioms

• "Oán sâu như bể": (Resentment as deep as the ocean) Describes profound, bottomless resentment.
• "Giận cá chém thớt" / "Giận chó đá gà": (To be angry at the fish but chop the cutting board / To be angry at the dog but kick the chicken) These idioms describe taking out one's anger or resentment on an innocent party, a concept related to misdirected "oán."

verb

1. to resent; to feel resentment against