Definition

1. Adverbial phrase:
   • At an unlucky/inconvenient moment, at a bad time: Used to indicate that something happens or is encountered at an unfortunate, difficult, or inopportune time, often involving hardship or bad luck.

Usage Examples

• Adverbial phrase:
  • Phải khi trái gió trở trời, anh ấy lại đau ốm. (At an unlucky moment of bad weather, he falls ill again.)
  • Gia đình tôi phải khi túng thiếu nhưng vẫn cố gắng vượt qua. (My family encounters moments of hardship but still tries to overcome them.)
  • Phải khi công việc đang bận rộn nhất thì máy tính lại hỏng. (At the most inconvenient time, when work is busiest, the computer breaks down.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase is used to set a temporal context of misfortune or difficulty for the main clause. It often precedes a description of an unfortunate event or state that occurs during that time.
• It can be used in both past and present narrative contexts to describe recurring or specific unfortunate situations.

Variants and Related Words

• Phải lúc: A very close variant with the same meaning (at an unlucky/inconvenient time).
• Phải buổi: A less common, older variant with a similar meaning.
• Gặp khi: To encounter a time (when...). This is a more neutral phrase that can be combined with negative descriptors (e.g., - to encounter a difficult time).

Synonyms

• Vào lúc không may: At an unlucky moment.
• Đúng lúc (used ironically): Ironically for "right at the worst possible time". (e.g., - Right when I needed him most, he was away.)
• Lúc khó khăn: During a difficult time.

Related Idioms

• Phải vận đen: To have bad luck (more focused on luck than timing).
• Gặp hạn: To encounter a period of misfortune or calamity (stronger connotation).
• Trái gió trở trời: (Idiom) Literally "contrary winds, turning weather"; used to describe a time of physical indisposition or illness, often found in conjunction with .

1. At an unlucky moment of
   • Phải khi trái gió trở trời
     At an unlucky moment of indisposition