tro tàn
Definition
- Noun:
- Ashes and embers: The literal meaning refers to the cold, grayish residue left after a fire has completely burned out, often mixed with small, unburned fragments of coal or wood.
- Ruins; remnants: A figurative meaning describing what remains after something has been destroyed, ended, or has passed away, often carrying a sense of desolation or melancholy.
Usage Examples
Noun (literal):
- Sau đám cháy, chỉ còn lại đống tro tàn. (After the fire, only a pile of ashes and embers remained.)
- Cô quét sạch tro tàn trong lò sưởi. (She swept the ashes and embers clean from the fireplace.)
Noun (figurative):
- Cuộc chiến để lại phía sau những thành phố đầy tro tàn. (The war left behind cities full of ruins.)
- Mối tình của họ giờ chỉ còn là tro tàn. (Their love is now just ashes/remnants.)
Advanced Usage
- Used poetically or in literature to evoke imagery of finality, loss, or the aftermath of destruction.
- Giấc mơ của anh ta đã tan thành tro tàn. (His dreams have turned to ashes.)
Variants and Related Words
Tro (n): Ash; the fine powder left after burning.
- Tro núi lửa (Volcanic ash)
Tàn (n): Ember; a small piece of glowing coal or wood in a dying fire. Also used figuratively to mean "remnant" or "end."
- Đống lửa chỉ còn những hòn than tàn. (The fire pit only had dying embers left.)
Synonyms
- Ashes: The powdery residue left after burning.
- Embers: Glowing pieces of coal or wood in a dying fire.
- Ruins: The physical remains of something destroyed.
- Remnants: Small remaining quantities or fragments.
Related Idioms
Tan thành tro tàn: To be completely destroyed or reduced to nothing.
- Căn nhà đã tan thành tro tàn trong đám cháy. (The house was reduced to ashes in the fire.)
Thổi bùng lên từ tro tàn: To rise from the ashes; to recover after a near-total failure or destruction.
- Công ty đã thổi bùng lên từ tro tàn sau khủng hoảng. (The company rose from the ashes after the crisis.)