Definition

Adjective: 1. Cruel, merciless, brutal: Describes actions or behaviors that are extremely harsh, unkind, and show a lack of pity or compassion. 2. Ungrateful, mean, base: Describes a character or behavior that is not only cruel but also shows a lack of gratitude or basic decency, often involving betrayal or ill-treatment of someone who deserves better.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Hắn đối xử với vợ con một cách tàn tệ. (He treats his wife and children in a cruel manner.)
  • Lịch sử đã ghi lại nhiều hành động tàn tệ của bạo chúa. (History has recorded many brutal acts of the tyrant.)
  • Thật tàn tệ khi cô ấy phản bội lại người đã từng cưu mang mình. (It was truly ungrateful/mean of her to betray the person who once took her in.)

Advanced Usage

• "sự tàn tệ": (noun) cruelty, brutality.
  • Sự tàn tệ của chiến tranh là không thể phủ nhận. (The cruelty of war is undeniable.)
• Used to intensify criticism of immoral or inhumane behavior, often implying a violation of social or moral expectations (e.g., cruelty towards the weak, betrayal of benefactors).

Variants and Related Words

• Tàn bạo (adj): Savage, ferocious. Often used for extreme violence and brutality, sometimes with a slightly more physical connotation than .
• Tệ bạc (adj): Ungrateful, shabby, mean. Focuses more on the base, ungrateful aspect of behavior.
• Độc ác (adj): Malicious, evil. Emphasizes deliberate wickedness or malice.
• Nhẫn tâm (adj): Heartless, unfeeling. Emphasizes a lack of compassion.

Synonyms

• Cruel: Tàn nhẫn, độc ác.
• Merciless: Không khoan nhượng, nhẫn tâm.
• Brutal: Dã man, tàn bạo.
• Ungrateful: Vô ơn, bội bạc.

Related Idioms

• "Ăn cháo đá bát": (Lit: To eat the porridge and kick the bowl). To bite the hand that feeds you; to be ungrateful and turn against a benefactor. This idiom captures the "ungrateful and mean" aspect of .
  • Hắn ta đúng là kẻ ăn cháo đá bát, đối xử tàn tệ với ân nhân. (He is truly someone who bites the hand that feeds him, treating his benefactor cruelly.)

adj

1. withless and ungrateful