Definition

1. Noun:
   • Tragedy: A very sad, disastrous, or catastrophic event, often involving great suffering, loss, or death.
   • Tragedy (as a genre): A serious play, film, or story with a sorrowful or disastrous conclusion, typically involving the downfall of the main character.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Vụ động đất là một thảm kịch kinh hoàng. (The earthquake was a horrific tragedy.)
  • Vở kịch "Romeo và Juliet" của Shakespeare là một thảm kịch nổi tiếng. (Shakespeare's play "Romeo and Juliet" is a famous tragedy.)

Advanced Usage

• The word "thảm kịch" often implies a scale of suffering that is profound and emotionally devastating, more severe than a simple misfortune ("bất hạnh").
• It can be used metaphorically to describe situations with disastrous outcomes, even without physical death.
  • Sự sụp đổ của công ty là một thảm kịch kinh tế. (The collapse of the company was an economic tragedy.)

Variants and Related Words

• Bi kịch (n): Also means "tragedy." While often used interchangeably with "thảm kịch," "bi kịch" can sometimes place more emphasis on the pitiable, sorrowful, or ironic aspects of a situation, and is the more common term for the literary/dramatic genre.
• Thảm họa (n): Disaster, catastrophe. This word emphasizes the large-scale destructive and disastrous nature of an event, with slightly less focus on the emotional "tragic" element than "thảm kịch."
• Kịch (n): Drama, play. The general term for a theatrical play.

Synonyms

• Catastrophe: A sudden and widespread disaster.
• Disaster: A sudden event causing great damage or loss.
• Calamity: An event causing great and often sudden damage or distress.

Related Idioms

• Mang thảm kịch đến cho...: To bring tragedy to...
  • Cuộc chiến đã mang thảm kịch đến cho hàng nghìn gia đình. (The war brought tragedy to thousands of families.)