Definition

1. 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.)