Definition

1. Noun:
   • Disaster, catastrophe: A sudden, severe event causing great damage, suffering, or loss. It refers to a misfortune of significant scale.
   • Calamity, great misfortune: An event or situation that results in profound distress or terrible consequences.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Trận động đất là một tai họa khủng khiếp. (The earthquake was a terrible disaster.)
  • Lũ lụt gây ra tai họa cho cả vùng. (The floods caused a catastrophe for the entire region.)
  • Gia đình họ đã trải qua nhiều tai họa. (Their family has endured many calamities.)

Advanced Usage

• The word "tai họa" is often used in formal or serious contexts to describe events of large-scale, collective impact, such as natural disasters or profound personal tragedies.
• It can be used metaphorically to describe a person who brings trouble.
  • Thằng bé đó đúng là một tai họa. (That boy is a real disaster.)

Variants and Related Words

• Thảm họa (n): catastrophe, tragedy. Often used interchangeably with "tai họa" but can imply an even greater scale or more tragic consequences.

  • Vụ nổ nhà máy là một thảm họa môi trường. (The factory explosion was an environmental catastrophe.)

• Tai ương (n): scourge, affliction. Often refers to a persistent cause of suffering.

  • Chiến tranh là tai ương của nhân loại. (War is a scourge of humanity.)

Synonyms

• Disaster: a sudden accident or natural catastrophe causing great damage.
• Catastrophe: an event causing great and sudden damage or suffering.
• Calamity: an event causing great damage or distress.
• Misfortune: bad luck or an unfortunate condition.

Related Idioms

• Tai bay vạ gió: misfortunes that come unexpectedly, like "trouble out of the blue."

  • Đang yên đang lành, tai bay vạ gió. (Everything was fine, then trouble came out of the blue.)

• Họa vô đơn chí: misfortunes never come singly; troubles often come in multiples.

  • Bố mất việc, rồi mẹ ốm, đúng là họa vô đơn chí. (Father lost his job, then mother got sick—misfortunes never come singly.)

noun

1. disaster, catastrophe