phúc bạc
Definition
- Adjective:
- Having little happiness or good fortune; ill-fated; unfortunate: Describes a person whose life is marked by a lack of blessings, joy, or prosperity; a state of being unlucky or cursed with hardship.
- Fickle in love or loyalty; ungrateful: Describes a person, often in a romantic context, who is emotionally shallow, disloyal, or quick to abandon affection and kindness shown to them.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Số phận của cô ấy thật là phúc bạc. (Her fate is truly unfortunate/ill-starred.)
- Hắn là một kẻ phúc bạc, nhận ơn rồi lại phụ lòng người. (He is an ungrateful person, receiving kindness only to betray the giver.)
- Đời người phúc bạc, gặp toàn chuyện không may. (A life of little fortune, encountering nothing but misfortune.)
Advanced Usage
- The term is often used in classical and literary contexts, especially in poetry and older literature, to lament a tragic fate or a lover's betrayal. It carries a strong emotional and moral judgment.
Variants and Related Words
- Bạc bẽo (adj): Ungrateful, heartless, treating others' feelings with contempt. This is a more common synonym for the "ungrateful" aspect of .
- Lời nói bạc bẽo. (Heartless words.)
- Vô phúc (adj): Unblessed, lacking in good fortune.
- Đồ vô phúc! (You wretched/unblessed person!)
Synonyms
- Ill-fated: Marked by bad luck.
- Unfortunate: Having or marked by bad fortune; unlucky.
- Ungrateful: Not feeling or showing gratitude.
- Fickle: Changing frequently, especially in loyalties or affections.
Related Idioms
- Phận bạc như vôi: A fate as worthless as lime; a proverb describing a deeply unfortunate and pitiable life.
- Thân phận nàng ta phận bạc như vôi. (Her life was a fate as worthless as lime.)
- Ăn ở bạc: To treat someone poorly or ungratefully.
- Nó ăn ở bạc với ân nhân của mình. (He treated his benefactor poorly.)