Definition

1. Verb (colloquial, vulgar):
   • To rot in jail: To be imprisoned for a very long time, often until death, implying a state of decay and suffering within prison.
   • To languish in prison: To waste away or endure a miserable, prolonged incarceration.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Tên tội phạm đó đáng đời rục xương trong tù. (That criminal deserves to rot in jail.)
  • Hắn sẽ phải rục xương vì những tội ác của mình. (He will have to languish in prison for his crimes.)

Advanced Usage

• This term is highly informal and carries a strong negative connotation, often expressing contempt, schadenfreude, or a severe judgment towards the imprisoned person. It is not used in formal or polite contexts.
• It emphasizes the finality and extreme duration of the punishment, suggesting the person will never be free again.

Variants and Related Words

• Ngồi tù (verb): To sit in prison / to be imprisoned. (A more neutral term for being incarcerated.)
• Tù chung thân (noun): Life imprisonment. (The legal sentence often associated with the idea of "rục xương".)

Synonyms

• Mục xương trong ngục (verb phrase): Literally "for one's bones to decay in prison". A synonymous, equally vivid and vulgar expression.
• Chết trong tù (verb phrase): To die in prison.

Related Idioms/Phrases

• Ở tù đến bạc đầu: To be in prison until one's hair turns grey. (Implies a very long prison sentence but not necessarily until death.)
• Đền tội bằng cả cuộc đời: To atone for one's crime with one's whole life. (A more formal expression for a life sentence.)

1. Rot in jail