Definition

1. Verb:
   • To be unfaithful in love, to betray romantic love: "phụ tình" describes the act of breaking faith, trust, or commitment within a romantic relationship, often by being disloyal or abandoning one's partner.
   • To be love-lorn, to be jilted: This meaning focuses on the state of being the one who has been betrayed or abandoned in love, experiencing heartbreak and sorrow.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Anh ấy đã phụ tình cô ấy sau năm năm yêu nhau. (He was unfaithful to her / betrayed her love after five years together.)
  • Cô ấy cảm thấy đau khổ vì bị phụ tình. (She feels heartbroken because she was jilted / betrayed in love.)
  • Phụ tình người yêu là một hành động đáng trách. (Being unfaithful to one's lover is a blameworthy act.)

Advanced Usage

• "kẻ phụ tình": the unfaithful one, the betrayer in love.
  • Kẻ phụ tình ấy cuối cùng cũng nhận ra lỗi lầm của mình. (That unfaithful person finally realized his mistake.)
• "nỗi đau phụ tình": the pain of being betrayed in love.
  • Anh ấy chưa thể vượt qua nỗi đau phụ tình. (He hasn't been able to overcome the pain of being betrayed in love.)

Variants and Related Words

• Phụ bạc (verb): to be ungrateful, to treat someone badly after receiving their kindness or love. This is a broader term often used synonymously with "phụ tình" but can apply beyond romantic contexts.
  • Hắn là một kẻ phụ bạc, quên ơn nghĩa cũ. (He is an ungrateful person, forgetting past favors.)
• Bội tình (verb): a synonym meaning to betray love, to be unfaithful. It is very close in meaning to "phụ tình."
  • Lời hứa bội tình khiến cô gái suy sụp. (The promise of love that was betrayed made the girl collapse.)

Synonyms

• Bội ước: to break a promise (often a romantic vow).
• Phản bội: to betray (general term, can be used in love, friendship, or politics).

Related Phrases / Idioms

• "Ăn cháo đá bát" (lit: to eat the porridge and kick the bowl): An idiom describing ingratitude and betrayal, similar to "biting the hand that feeds you." It can be used in contexts of "phụ tình."
  • Giúp hắn thế mà giờ hắn lại phụ tình tôi, đúng là ăn cháo đá bát. (I helped him so much, and now he betrays my love; it's truly the height of ingratitude.)
• "Trăng già đội nón đi chơi, em già lấy chồng, anh phụ tình em": A line from a folk poem/ca dao illustrating the theme of betrayal and change in love.

1. Be unfaithful, be love-lorn