Definition

1. Verb phrase:
   • To blame one's fate or lot in life: To express discontent or sorrow regarding one's own circumstances, destiny, or perceived misfortune. It implies a sense of self-pity or lamentation over one's situation.

Usage Examples

• Verb phrase:
  • Cô ấy chỉ biết ngồi đó than thân trách phận. (She could only sit there, lamenting and blaming her fate.)
  • Đừng suốt ngày trách phận, hãy cố gắng lên. (Don't spend all day blaming your fate; try harder.)

Advanced Usage

• This term is most commonly and idiomatically used in the fixed four-word idiom "than thân trách phận", which means "to lament one's life and blame one's fate." It conveys a stronger sense of continuous, sorrowful complaint.
  • Sau thất bại, anh ta rơi vào trạng thái than thân trách phận. (After the failure, he fell into a state of lamenting his life and blaming his fate.)

Variants and Related Words

• Than thân (v): to lament one's life, to bemoan one's hard lot.
  • Bài thơ mang giọng điệu than thân. (The poem has a tone of lamenting one's life.)

Synonyms

• Bemoan one's lot: To express discontent or sorrow over one's situation.
• Lament one's fate: To express grief, regret, or disappointment about one's destiny.

Related Idioms

• Than thân trách phận: To lament one's life and blame one's fate; to indulge in self-pity regarding one's circumstances.
  • Con người ấy không bao giờ than thân trách phận. (That person never laments their life or blames their fate.)