quần quật
Definition
Adverb:
- Toiling incessantly / working relentlessly: Describes working extremely hard, without rest, and for a long, continuous period. It emphasizes the strenuous, non-stop nature of the labor.
Adjective:
- Characterized by relentless toil: Used to describe a period of time or a situation filled with constant, exhausting work.
Usage Examples
Adverb:
- Anh ấy làm việc quần quật cả tuần để hoàn thành dự án. (He worked relentlessly all week to finish the project.)
- Họ quần quật trên cánh đồng từ sáng đến tối. (They toiled incessantly in the fields from morning till night.)
Adjective:
- Đó là một ngày quần quật với đống việc nhà. (It was a day of relentless toil with a pile of housework.)
- Cuộc sống quần quật của người nông dân. (The farmer's life of constant toil.)
Advanced Usage
- The word often carries a connotation of hardship, struggle, and being trapped in a cycle of exhausting work with little respite. It is stronger than simply "working hard" and implies a grinding, draining effort.
Variants and Related Words
- Vần vật (verb/adverb): to struggle, to be entangled in difficulties; similar in meaning to "quần quật" but can imply more of a wrestling or grappling with problems.
- Vần vật với công việc. (Struggling with work.)
Synonyms
- Toil incessantly: to work extremely hard without stopping.
- Work like a dog / slave away: to work very hard in a demanding way (idiomatic).
- Grind: to perform tedious, laborious work over a long period.
Related Idioms
- While "quần quật" itself is not typically part of a longer idiom, its meaning is central to expressions describing a life of hard labor, such as:
- Đầu tắt mặt tối: (Literally: head goes out, face gets dark) meaning to be busy from dawn till dusk, constantly occupied with work.