Definition

1. Verb phrase:
   • To fall into misfortune/adversity: To encounter bad luck or an unfortunate situation, often leading to a decline in circumstances or status.
   • To suffer a setback/failure: To experience a reversal of fortune, especially after a period of success or stability.

Usage Examples

• Verb phrase:
  • Anh ấy từng là một doanh nhân thành đạt, nhưng giờ đã sa cơ. (He was once a successful businessman, but has now fallen into adversity.)
  • Trong cuộc chiến, nhiều vị tướng cũng có lúc sa cơ. (In war, even great generals sometimes suffer setbacks.)
  • Cô ấy không nỡ nhìn người bạn cũ sa cơ. (She couldn't bear to see her old friend fall on hard times.)

Advanced Usage & Nuances

• "sa cơ lỡ bước": This is a common four-word idiom that intensifies the meaning. It describes not just falling into misfortune, but also losing one's way or missing a step in life, implying a loss of direction or aim due to the adverse situation.
  • Cuộc đời thăng trầm, không ai tránh khỏi lúc sa cơ lỡ bước. (Life has its ups and downs; no one can avoid moments of misfortune and missteps.)
• The phrase often carries a classical, literary tone and is used to describe a significant, sometimes dramatic, downturn in fate.

Variants and Related Words

• Sa ngã (verb): To fall, to degenerate (often morally). While "sa cơ" is about circumstance, "sa ngã" often implies a moral fall.
• Thất thế (verb): To lose power or position.
• Lâm nạn (verb): To get into trouble or disaster.
• Cơ hàn (noun/adjective): Poverty and hardship (describes the state resulting from "sa cơ").

Synonyms

• Rơi vào hoàn cảnh khó khăn: To fall into difficult circumstances.
• Gặp vận rủi: To encounter bad luck.
• Thất bại: To fail (more general, less literary).

Related Idioms & Set Phrases

• "Sa cơ thất thế": To fall from power and lose one's position. This emphasizes the loss of status and influence.
  • Kẻ kiêu ngạo rồi cũng có ngày sa cơ thất thế. (The arrogant will one day fall from power.)
• "Bĩ cực thái lai" (Idiom): After extreme bad luck comes good fortune. This is often used as a consolation or observation related to the concept of "sa cơ."

Notes on Meaning

• The phrase "sa cơ" is deeply rooted in Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary ("cơ" 機 meaning opportunity, mechanism, or situation). It literally suggests "falling from a (favorable) situation or opportunity."
• It is typically used for people, not objects or abstract concepts.
• It implies an element of fate or uncontrollable circumstance, not just a simple mistake.

1. to land, to fal, to go to the dogsl
   • sa cơ lỡ bước
     to land in a predicament and lose one's aim