Definition

1. Noun:

   • Ash; residue: The remaining powder or small pieces left after something has completely burned, such as cigarette ash or incense ash.
   • Canopy; foliage: The spreading branches and leaves of a tree that form a cover, resembling a parasol. (Note: This meaning is less common in modern daily use).

2. Verb:

   • To wither; to fade: For flowers or plants to lose freshness and vitality, approaching death or shedding.
   • To die down; to dwindle: For a fire or light to weaken and approach extinguishment.
   • To end; to draw to a close: For an event, period, or state of existence to reach its final stage.

3. Adjective:

   • Waning; dying: Describing something that is fading, declining, or in its final, weak stages.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • Anh gạt tàn thuốc vào gạt tàn. (He flicked the cigarette ash into the ashtray.)
  • Chúng tôi ngồi nghỉ dưới tàn cây cổ thụ. (We sat resting under the canopy of the ancient tree.)

• Verb:

  • Những bông hoa hồng đã bắt đầu tàn. (The rose flowers have begun to wither.)
  • Ngọn lửa trong lò sưởi đã tàn hẳn. (The fire in the fireplace has completely died down.)
  • Buổi tiệc tàn vào lúc nửa đêm. (The party ended at midnight.)

• Adjective:

  • Đó là một nền văn minh đã tàn. (That is a civilization that has waned/died.)
  • Ánh nắng tàn của một ngày cuối thu. (The waning sunlight of a late autumn day.)

Advanced Usage

• "tàn phá": to devastate, to ruin. This is a compound verb where "tàn" intensifies the meaning of destruction.

  • Cơn bão đã tàn phá nhiều ngôi làng. (The storm devastated many villages.)

• "tàn tật": disabled, maimed. A compound adjective describing a state of physical disability.

  • Người lính trở về trong tình trạng tàn tật. (The soldier returned in a disabled state.)

Variants and Related Words

• Tàn lụi (v): to wither away, to perish (often used for plants or metaphorical decline).

  • Cả khu vườn tàn lụi vì hạn hán. (The entire garden withered away due to drought.)

• Tàn tích (n): ruins, remnants (what remains of something destroyed or decayed).

  • Những tàn tích của một tòa lâu đài cổ. (The ruins of an old castle.)

• Tàn nhang (n): freckles (literally "ash spots").

  • Cô ấy có nhiều tàn nhang trên mặt. (She has many freckles on her face.)

Synonyms

• Ash: cinders, residue.
• To wither: to wilt, to fade.
• To end: to conclude, to finish.
• Waning: declining, fading, dying.

Related Idioms

• Theo đóm ăn tàn: To follow someone blindly for minor, uncertain benefits (literally: to follow the firefly to eat the ash).

  • Anh ta cứ theo đóm ăn tàn, chẳng có kế hoạch riêng. (He just follows others blindly, without his own plan.)

• Tàn cuộc: The endgame; the final stage of a situation (often used in games like chess or in describing events).

  • Trong tàn cuộc, họ mới đưa ra nước bài quyết định. (In the endgame, they finally played their decisive move.)

noun

1. ash. processional parasol

verb

1. to crumble, to draw to an end, to decay

adj

1. dying, waning