Definition

1. Noun:

   • A fatal wound: A severe physical injury that directly causes or is highly likely to cause death.
   • A mortal wound: An injury that is so grave it leads to the loss of life.

2. Adjective (Attributive):

   • Fatal / Mortal: Used to describe a wound or injury that results in death.
   • Mortally wounded: Describing a person who has sustained a fatal injury.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • Anh ta bị tử thương trong trận chiến. (He suffered a fatal wound in the battle.)
  • Vết tử thương khiến anh ấy qua đời ngay tại chỗ. (The mortal wound caused him to die on the spot.)

• Adjective:

  • Họ tìm thấy một chiến binh với vết thương tử thương. (They found a warrior with a mortal injury.)
  • Nạn nhân đã tử thương trước khi xe cứu thương tới. (The victim was mortally wounded before the ambulance arrived.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is most commonly used in formal, literary, journalistic, or military contexts to describe combat, accident, or violent crime scenarios.
• It emphasizes the certainty or high probability of death resulting from the injury, not just a serious wound.

Variants and Related Words

• Tử vong (n): Fatality, death.

  • Số liệu về tử vong do tai nạn giao thông. (Statistics on traffic accident fatalities.)

• Thương tích (n): Injury, wound.

  • Thương tích nặng nhưng không phải là tử thương. (A severe injury but not a fatal one.)

Synonyms

• Fatal wound: A wound causing death.
• Mortal wound: An injury that is inevitably fatal.
• Death wound: A wound that results in death.

Related Idioms

• While "tử thương" itself is not typically part of a common idiom, it relates to the concept in phrases like:
  • Chết vì thương tích: To die from injuries.

    • Hắn chết vì thương tích nặng sau vụ nổ. (He died from severe injuries after the explosion.)