tiêu ma
Definition
- Verb:
- To vanish; to dissipate; to be utterly lost or destroyed: Describes something disappearing completely, often without a trace, or being wasted away to nothing. It conveys a sense of total loss or annihilation.
- To come to nothing; to fall through (of plans, efforts, or hopes): Refers to plans, careers, or endeavors failing completely and becoming futile.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Bao nhiêu công sức của chúng tôi giờ đã tiêu ma. (All our efforts have now vanished.)
- Hy vọng của họ tiêu ma sau thất bại đó. (Their hopes dissipated after that failure.)
- Kế hoạch kinh doanh có nguy cơ tiêu ma. (The business plan risks falling through.)
Advanced Usage
- The term often carries a literary or dramatic tone, emphasizing a complete and sometimes tragic or wasteful disappearance.
- Cả một gia tài tiêu ma chỉ sau một trận cờ bạc. (An entire fortune vanished after just one gambling session.)
Variants and Related Words
- Tiêu tan (v): to dissolve, to vanish, to evaporate. Often used interchangeably with "tiêu ma" but can sound slightly less absolute.
- Mọi nỗi buồn rồi sẽ tiêu tan. (All sorrows will eventually dissolve.)
Synonyms
- Vanish: to disappear completely.
- Dissipate: to scatter or disappear.
- Be annihilated: to be completely destroyed.
- Come to nothing: to end without success.
Related Idioms
- Tiêu ma sự nghiệp: for one's life's work or career to come to nothing.
- Không có kế hoạch, bạn dễ tiêu ma sự nghiệp. (Without a plan, you risk your career coming to nothing.)