Definition

1. Verb (phrase):
   • To rot in jail, to stay long in jail until death (archaic): This phrase describes the state of being imprisoned for an extremely long time, often until one's death, with a connotation of decay and wasting away.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Tên phản bội ấy đáng bị rũ tù. (That traitor deserves to rot in jail.)
  • Theo bản án, hắn sẽ phải rũ tù. (According to the sentence, he will have to stay in jail until he dies.)

Advanced Usage

• This phrase is considered archaic (từ cũ) in modern Vietnamese. It carries a strong, severe, and somewhat literary tone, often used in historical contexts or to express extreme condemnation.
• It implies not just a long prison sentence, but one that ends only with the prisoner's death within the confines of the prison.

Variants and Related Words

• Ở tù (verb): To be in jail, to serve a prison sentence. (This is the modern, neutral term.)
• Tù chung thân (noun): Life imprisonment.
• Tù đày (verb): To imprison, to send into exile/imprisonment. (Has a historical/punitive connotation.)

Synonyms

• Bỏ tù cho đến chết: To imprison until death.
• Chết trong tù: To die in prison.

Notes on Meaning

• The primary meaning is to be imprisoned for life, with the imagery of physically decaying ("rot") in the jail cell. It emphasizes the finality and severity of the punishment.
• It is not used for short or fixed-term sentences.

1. (từ cũ) Rot in jail, stay long in jail