trầm luân
Definition
Adjective:
- Suffering / in misery: Describes a state of being deeply submerged in hardship, misfortune, or profound suffering, often with a sense of being trapped or drowning in it.
- Submerged / sunk: Carries the literal and figurative meaning of being sunk or drowned, particularly in a sea of troubles.
Noun (literary):
- Sea of suffering / abyss of misery: Refers to the state or condition of extreme affliction itself, often conceptualized as an ocean one drowns in.
Usage Examples
Adjective:
- Cuộc đời cô ấy thật trầm luân. (Her life is full of suffering.)
- Họ đang sống trong cảnh trầm luân. (They are living in a state of misery.)
Noun:
- Giúp người vượt qua bể trầm luân. (To help someone cross the sea of suffering.)
Advanced Usage
- This word is primarily used in literary, philosophical, or religious contexts (like Buddhism) to describe profound, often inescapable worldly suffering.
- It often implies a cyclical or continuous state of distress, not a single momentary pain.
Variants and Related Words
- Trầm (adj/verb): deep, low; to sink.
- Luân (noun): cycle, wheel (as in the cycle of rebirth).
Synonyms
- Tribulation: a cause of great trouble or suffering.
- Adversity: a difficult or unpleasant situation.
- Affliction: something that causes pain or suffering.
Related Idioms
- Bể trầm luân / Biển trầm luân: The sea of suffering; a metaphor for the painful, cyclical nature of earthly existence.
- Cầu mong được siêu thoát khỏi bể trầm luân. (Praying to be liberated from the sea of suffering.)