túng
Definition
- Adjective:
- In financial straits; hard up; short of money: Describes a state of lacking sufficient funds or resources, experiencing economic hardship.
- In a tight spot; cornered; at a loss: Describes a situation where one is stuck, has run out of options, or faces a difficult problem with no apparent solution.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Gia đình anh ấy đang rất túng. (His family is in a very tight financial spot.)
- Tôi túng tiền nên không thể mua vé. (I am short of money, so I cannot buy a ticket.)
- Bị chất vấn dồn dập, ông ấy trở nên túng. (Being questioned intensively, he became cornered and at a loss for words.)
Advanced Usage
"túng quẫn": to be in dire straits; to be in extreme distress or poverty.
- Hoàn cảnh túng quẫn buộc họ phải bán nhà. (Their dire circumstances forced them to sell their house.)
"túng thế": to be in a tight corner; to be forced into a difficult position.
- Đội khách bị túng thế trong suốt hiệp hai. (The visiting team was forced into a defensive position throughout the second half.)
Variants and Related Words
Túng thiếu (adj): needy; destitute; lacking the basic necessities.
- Một khu vực của thành phố nơi nhiều người sống túng thiếu. (A part of the city where many people live in destitution.)
Khốn túng (adj): impoverished; in a wretched state of poverty.
- Cuộc sống khốn túng sau chiến tranh. (A life of impoverishment after the war.)
Synonyms
- Hard up: lacking money.
- Penniless: having no money.
- Cornered: placed in a situation where escape is difficult.
- Stumped: perplexed; at a loss.
Related Idioms
Túng thì phải tính: Necessity is the mother of invention; one must find a way when in a tight spot.
- Đừng lo, túng thì phải tính mà. (Don't worry, when in a tight spot, one will find a way.)
Túng kế: to be at one's wit's end; to have run out of tricks or strategies.
- Đối thủ giờ đã túng kế. (The opponent is now at their wit's end.)