thù
Definition
Noun:
- Enmity, hatred: A deep-seated feeling of animosity or ill will held against someone due to a past wrong or injury.
- Enemy, foe: The person or party who is the object of such hatred; an adversary.
Verb:
- To bear a grudge, to harbor resentment: To hold a persistent feeling of anger or ill will towards someone because of a past offense.
Usage Examples
- Noun (enmity):
- Hai gia đình có mối thù truyền kiếp. (The two families have a generational enmity.)
- Anh ta nhìn tôi với ánh mắt đầy thù hận. (He looked at me with eyes full of hatred.)
- Noun (enemy):
- Phải biết phân biệt bạn và thù. (One must know how to distinguish friend from foe.)
- Verb:
- Nó thù tôi vì chuyện ngày xưa. (He bears a grudge against me because of what happened in the past.)
- Họ thù nhau đã lâu. (They have harbored resentment towards each other for a long time.)
Advanced Usage
"thù oán": to harbor a bitter grudge or resentment.
- Lòng đầy thù oán. (A heart full of bitter resentment.)
"kẻ thù": (compound noun) enemy, foe.
- Kẻ thù đã bị đánh bại. (The enemy has been defeated.)
Variants and Related Words
Thù hận (n): deep hatred, rancor.
- Mối thù hận không thể nguôi ngoai. (An irreconcilable deep hatred.)
Thù địch (n): hostility, antagonism; (adj) hostile.
- Hành động mang tính thù địch. (A hostile action.)
Trả thù (v): to take revenge, to avenge.
- Hắn tìm cách trả thù. (He sought ways to take revenge.)
Synonyms
- Noun (feeling): Hatred, animosity, rancor, grudge.
- Noun (person): Enemy, adversary, foe.
- Verb: To resent, to bear a grudge.
Related Idioms
Thù nhà nợ nước: A deep hatred related to a debt to one's family and country (often used in historical/heroic contexts).
- Mang trong lòng thù nhà nợ nước. (To carry the hatred for family and debt to the nation in one's heart.)
Mối thù không đội trời chung: An irreconcilable enmity (literally, "an enmity that cannot share the same sky").
- Đó là mối thù không đội trời chung. (That is an irreconcilable enmity.)