Definition

1. Interjection:

   • Oh my God! / Oh heavens!: An exclamation expressing strong emotion such as surprise, shock, disbelief, frustration, or pain. It is a very common and versatile exclamation in Vietnamese.
   • Good Lord! / Oh no!: Used to react to an unexpected, unfortunate, or intolerable situation.

2. Adjective (colloquial, often regional):

   • Mischievous / rascally: Describes a person, especially a child, who is naughty or behaves badly.
   • Unacceptable / deplorable / poor: Describes something of very low quality, bad character, or undesirable nature (e.g., behavior, appearance, outcome).
   • Groundless / baseless / airy: Describes a story, talk, or idea that is made-up, frivolous, or without foundation.

Usage Examples

• Interjection:

  • Trời ơi, muộn giờ rồi! (Oh my God, we're late!)
  • Trời ơi, cái áo mới của tôi! (Oh no, my new shirt!)
  • Trời ơi, đau quá! (Good Lord, that hurts so much!)

• Adjective:

  • Đứa bé đó trời ơi lắm. (That child is very mischievous.)
  • Tính nết của nó trời ơi. (His/her character is deplorable.)
  • Anh ta kể chuyện trời ơi. (He tells groundless stories.)

Advanced Usage

• The interjection is often used in combination with other phrases to intensify the emotion.
  • Trời ơi là trời! (An intensified form meaning "Oh my goodness gracious!")
• It can be used humorously or sarcastically to express mock surprise or disbelief.

Variants and Related Words

• Ôi trời ơi: A common variant with the same meaning as the interjection.
  • Ôi trời ơi, tôi quên ví rồi! (Oh heavens, I forgot my wallet!)

Synonyms

• Interjection: Oh my God, Good grief, Oh dear, Wow, Jeez.
• Adjective (mischievous): Naughty, impish.
• Adjective (poor quality): Terrible, awful, lousy.
• Adjective (groundless): Fabricated, frivolous.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Của trời ơi: An unexpected windfall; an unearned or serendipitous gain.
  • Chiếc vé số trúng thưởng là của trời ơi. (The winning lottery ticket was an unexpected windfall.)
• Chuyện trời ơi: A tall tale; a made-up or frivolous story.
  • Đừng nghe những chuyện trời ơi của nó. (Don't listen to his tall tales.)

adj

1. mischievous, rascal; untolerable blast! Oh, no!