Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Devastated; completely ruined or destroyed: Describes a state of utter destruction, desolation, or ruin, often resulting in a scene of complete disarray and emptiness. It implies something is shattered, broken apart, or laid waste.
   • In a state of complete disarray or mess: Can describe a situation or place that is in extreme disorder or chaos, though with a strong connotation of physical destruction.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Cơn bão đi qua để lại cảnh tan hoang. (The storm passed, leaving a scene of devastation.)
  • Căn phòng trông tan hoang sau bữa tiệc. (The room looked completely wrecked after the party.)
  • Ngôi làng tan hoang sau trận chiến. (The village was devastated after the battle.)

Advanced Usage

• The word "tan hoang" is often used to emphasize the totality of destruction, combining the ideas of being broken apart ("tan") and desolate/wild ("hoang"). It is frequently applied to landscapes, buildings, or places after catastrophic events like storms, wars, or fires.
• It can be used metaphorically to describe non-physical ruin, such as shattered plans or dreams, though this is less common.

Variants and Related Words

• Tan nát (adj): shattered, broken to pieces. Often used interchangeably with "tan hoang", but "tan hoang" carries a stronger sense of resulting desolation.
  • Trái tim tan nát. (A shattered heart.)
• Đổ nát (adj): in ruins, collapsed and ruined.
  • Phế tích đổ nát. (Crumbling ruins.)
• Hoang tàn (adj): desolate and in ruins. Very similar in meaning and tone to "tan hoang".
  • Khu phố hoang tàn. (The desolate neighborhood.)

Synonyms

• Devastated: severely and widely damaged or destroyed.
• Ruined: brought to a state of ruin.
• Desolated: made barren, deserted, or laid waste.
• Shattered: broken violently into pieces; utterly destroyed.

Related Idioms

• Tan tành tan hoang: A reinforced phrase meaning "completely and utterly destroyed." It intensifies the sense of total ruin.
  • Căn nhà bị san phẳng, tan tành tan hoang. (The house was flattened, completely and utterly destroyed.)

adj

1. devastated