than van

Definition

1. Verb:
   • To lament / to complain sorrowfully: The primary meaning of "than van" is to express grief, sorrow, or discontent through words, often in a prolonged, plaintive, or mournful manner.
   • To whine / to grumble: It can also describe the act of complaining in a persistent, fretful, or self-pitying way.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Cô ấy chỉ ngồi than van về số phận của mình. (She just sits and laments her fate.)
  • Đừng than van nữa, hãy bắt tay vào hành động. (Stop complaining and start taking action.)
  • Ông lão than van về cơn đau lưng. (The old man grumbled about his back pain.)

Advanced Usage

• "than van trách móc": to complain and blame, expressing sorrow mixed with reproach.
  • Anh ta không ngừng than van trách móc hoàn cảnh. (He incessantly complained and blamed his circumstances.)

Variants and Related Words

• Than thở (v): to sigh sorrowfully, to lament. This is a very close synonym, often used interchangeably with "than van."

  • Họ than thở về cuộc sống khó khăn. (They lamented the difficult life.)

• Rên rỉ (v): to moan, to groan (often from physical pain or distress, sometimes used figuratively for complaining).

  • Cậu bé rên rỉ vì đau bụng. (The boy moaned because of a stomachache.)

Synonyms

• Lament: to express passionate grief or sorrow.
• Bemoan: to express discontent or sorrow over something.
• Complain: to express dissatisfaction or annoyance.
• Grumble: to complain in a low, muttered way.

Related Idioms

• Than trời trách đất: to blame heaven and earth; to complain bitterly about one's lot, as if blaming fate or the universe.

  • Sau thất bại, anh ấy chỉ biết than trời trách đất. (After the failure, he could only do nothing but blame heaven and earth.)

• Than thân trách phận: to lament one's life and blame one's fate; a common phrase for self-pitying lamentation about one's miserable circumstances.

  • Bài hát đó là lời than thân trách phận của người phụ nữ. (That song is the lament of a woman bemoaning her life and fate.)