tội nghiệp
Definition
Adjective:
- Pitiful / Pitiable: Describes someone or something that evokes feelings of compassion, sympathy, or sorrow due to unfortunate circumstances, suffering, or helplessness.
- Poor (in the sense of evoking pity): Used to express a sentiment of "poor thing" towards a person or animal, highlighting their unfortunate state.
Interjection:
- What a pity! / Poor thing!: An exclamation expressing immediate sympathy, compassion, or sadness for someone's situation.
Usage Examples
Adjective:
- Đứa bé mồ côi trông thật tội nghiệp. (The orphaned child looks so pitiful.)
- Con chó bị bỏ rơi ấy rất tội nghiệp. (That abandoned dog is so pitiable.)
Interjection:
- Tội nghiệp con bé! Nó bị ốm rồi. (Poor little girl! She got sick.)
- Ôi, tội nghiệp! Anh ấy vừa mất việc. (Oh, what a pity! He just lost his job.)
Advanced Usage
- The word can be used to gently criticize someone's overly pitiful actions or to soften a reprimand with sympathy.
- Nó làm tội nghiệp quá, đừng mắng nó nữa. (He looks so pitiful, don't scold him anymore.)
Variants and Related Words
- Thương tội nghiệp (v): to feel deep pity for.
- Tôi thương tội nghiệp những người vô gia cư. (I feel deep pity for the homeless people.)
Synonyms
- Pitiful: Deserving or arousing pity.
- Pitiable: Deserving pity.
- Poor (as in "poor thing"): Used to express sympathy.
Related Idioms and Phrases
Làm bộ tội nghiệp: to act pitifully (often to gain sympathy).
- Nó cứ làm bộ tội nghiệp để được thương. (He just acts pitiful to gain sympathy.)
Tiếng kêu tội nghiệp: a pitiful cry or sound.
- Nghe tiếng mèo kêu tội nghiệp ngoài cửa. (Hearing the pitiful cry of a cat outside the door.)