Definition

1. Noun:

   • Waves and wind: The literal meaning refers to the physical phenomena of rough seas and strong winds, indicating stormy weather at sea.
   • Ups and downs, troubles, turbulence: The figurative and most common meaning refers to periods of great difficulty, hardship, or instability in life, work, or events.

2. Adjective (figurative):

   • Stormy, turbulent, troubled: Used to describe a life, period, or situation full of difficulties and dramatic changes.

Usage Examples

• Noun (literal):
  • Con tàu phải đối mặt với sóng gió trên biển. (The ship had to face the wind and waves at sea.)
• Noun (figurative):
  • Họ đã cùng nhau vượt qua bao sóng gió của cuộc đời. (They have overcome many of life's storms together.)
• Adjective:
  • Ông ấy có một tuổi trẻ sóng gió. (He had a stormy youth.)

Advanced Usage

• The word is almost exclusively used in its figurative sense to describe non-literal turbulence. It carries a connotation of successive challenges that test resilience.
• It often describes long-term periods (e.g., a stormy marriage, a turbulent career) rather than a single, brief problem.

Variants and Related Words

• Bão tố (n): storm; often used interchangeably with "sóng gió" in the figurative sense but can imply a more violent, concentrated crisis.
• Phong ba (n): wind and rain; another literary term for storms, used similarly to mean hardships.

Synonyms

• Troubles: problems or difficulties.
• Hardships: severe suffering or privation.
• Turbulence: a state of conflict, confusion, or instability.
• Adversity: a difficult or unlucky situation.

Related Idioms

• Sóng gió bủa vây: to be surrounded by troubles/stormy waves.
  • Công ty mới khởi nghiệp bị sóng gió bủa vây. (The new startup company was besieged by troubles.)
• Trải qua sóng gió: to go through storms; to experience many hardships.
  • Mối quan hệ đó đã trải qua nhiều sóng gió. (That relationship has been through many storms.)

noun

1. wind and waves
2. ups and downs, troubles