Definition

1. Adjective:
   • In a state of extreme financial hardship or destitution; being in dire straits: "túng quẫn" describes a situation of severe poverty or a critical lack of money and resources, leading to great difficulty in managing one's life.
   • Being in a difficult, tight, or desperate situation with no easy way out: It can also refer to a state of being cornered or trapped in a problematic circumstance, not necessarily only financial, where solutions are hard to find.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Gia đình anh ấy đang rơi vào cảnh túng quẫn sau trận dịch bệnh. (His family has fallen into a state of destitution after the epidemic.)
  • Công ty lâm vào tình thế túng quẫn, có nguy cơ phá sản. (The company is in dire straits, facing the risk of bankruptcy.)
  • Anh ta cảm thấy vô cùng túng quẫn khi không tìm được lối thoát. (He felt utterly cornered when he couldn't find a way out.)

Advanced Usage

• "Túng quẫn về tiền bạc": financially destitute, in dire financial need.
  • Sau khi mất việc, ông ấy trở nên túng quẫn về tiền bạc. (After losing his job, he became financially destitute.)
• "Bước đường cùng túng quẫn": a path of extreme hardship and desperation.
  • Họ đã đi đến bước đường cùng túng quẫn. (They have reached a path of utter desperation.)

Variants and Related Words

• Túng thiếu (adj): needy, lacking, in want (often less severe than "túng quẫn").
  • Cuộc sống túng thiếu nhưng họ vẫn lạc quan. (Their life is needy, but they remain optimistic.)
• Khốn quẫn / Khốn cùng (adj): miserable, wretched, in extreme distress (similar in intensity, often with a stronger emotional connotation).
  • Cảnh khốn quẫn của những người vô gia cư. (The wretched condition of the homeless.)

Synonyms

• Bần cùng: impoverished, destitute.
• Cùng khổ: poverty-stricken, in misery.
• Kiệt quệ: exhausted, depleted (often used for resources or energy, but can apply to finances).

Related Idioms

• "Túng phải tính" / "Túng thế phải liều": Needs must when the devil drives; desperate times call for desperate measures.
  • Anh ấy buộc phải bán chiếc xe yêu quý, đúng là túng phải tính. (He was forced to sell his beloved car; needs must when the devil drives.)
• "Đầu đường xó chợ": (Literally: the end of the road, the corner of the market) Describes a state of being down and out, vagrant, often resulting from destitution.
  • Sau cơn bão, nhiều người rơi vào cảnh đầu đường xó chợ. (After the storm, many people were left down and out.)

adj

1. broken, needy
   • túng phải tính
     needs must when the devil drives