Definition

Verb: - To feel self-pity: To feel sad, sorry for oneself, or humiliated due to one's own unfortunate or inferior circumstances compared to others. It describes a state of melancholy stemming from personal hardship or perceived shortcomings.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Đứa trẻ mồ côi thường cảm thấy tủi thân khi thấy bạn bè có gia đình. (The orphan often feels self-pity when seeing friends with families.)
  • Cô ấy tủi thân vì nghĩ mình không bằng chị em. (She felt self-pity because she thought she wasn't as good as her sisters.)
  • Đừng tủi thân vì hoàn cảnh khó khăn, hãy cố gắng vươn lên. (Don't feel sorry for yourself because of difficult circumstances; try to rise above them.)

Advanced Usage

• "Làm cho ai tủi thân": To make someone feel self-pity/humiliated.

  • Những lời chê bai vô cớ có thể làm người ta tủi thân. (Groundless criticism can make people feel humiliated and sorry for themselves.)

• "Nỗi tủi thân": A feeling/state of self-pity (often used as a noun phrase).

  • Nỗi tủi thân cứ dâng lên trong lòng cô. (A feeling of self-pity kept welling up inside her.)

Variants and Related Words

• Tủi (verb): To feel hurt, humiliated, or resentful (often used in compounds like - ashamed and humiliated, - humiliated and disgraced). It is the root conveying a sense of wounded pride or sadness.
• Tủi phận (verb): To feel sorry for one's lot in life or fate. Very close in meaning to , with a slightly stronger emphasis on one's destined circumstances.

Synonyms

• Tự ái (verb/noun): To be sensitive/to have sensitive pride. While is about being easily offended or prideful, focuses more on the inward feeling of pity and sadness.
• Buồn thân (verb): To feel sad for oneself (a less common, more literal synonym).
• Thương thân (verb): To pity oneself (emphasizes the "pity" aspect).

Notes on Different Meanings

The word tủi thân primarily carries the single meaning of feeling self-pity or humiliated sadness about one's own state. Its usage is consistently emotional and introspective.

Related Idioms

While tủi thân itself is not typically part of a fixed idiom, the sentiment is central to expressions like: - "Thân cò lặn lội": Literally "the heron's body wading through mud," figuratively describing a hard, pitiful life that could make one tủi thân. (To lead a life of toil and hardship.) - The feeling of tủi thân is often implied in contexts discussing "mặc cảm tự ti" (inferiority complex) or "so bì" (comparing oneself unfavorably to others).

verb

1. to feel self-pity