đất sụt trời sập
Definition
- Idiom:
- The earth collapses and the sky falls in: A vivid metaphorical expression describing a sudden, catastrophic disaster or calamity of immense scale and severity. It conveys a sense of the world falling apart, representing extreme misfortune, ruin, or a life-shattering event.
- A bolt from the blue / All hell breaks loose: Used to depict a sudden, overwhelming catastrophe that strikes without warning, causing utter devastation and chaos.
Usage Examples
- Idiom:
- Nghe tin công ty phá sản, anh ấy cảm thấy như đất sụt trời sập. (Hearing the news of the company's bankruptcy, he felt as if the earth had collapsed and the sky had fallen in.)
- Trận động đất ập đến như đất sụt trời sập, phá hủy mọi thứ trong tích tắc. (The earthquake struck like a bolt from the blue, destroying everything in an instant.)
Advanced Usage
- This idiom is often used to describe personal tragedies (e.g., sudden death of a loved one, catastrophic financial loss) or large-scale natural/social disasters. It emphasizes the psychological impact of feeling one's entire world has been destroyed.
Variants and Related Words
- Thiên tai địa họa (n): Natural disasters and calamities; a term for major catastrophes.
- Vùng này thường xuyên hứng chịu thiên tai địa họa. (This region frequently suffers from natural disasters and calamities.)
Synonyms
- Cataclysm: A large-scale and violent event in the natural world.
- Calamity: An event causing great and often sudden damage or distress.
- Disaster: A sudden event causing widespread destruction and distress.
Related Idioms
- Trời long đất lở: (The sky roars and the earth splits open) Another idiom with a very similar meaning, describing a tremendous, earth-shaking event or disaster.
- Tiếng bom nổ như trời long đất lở. (The sound of the bomb exploding was like the sky roaring and the earth splitting open.)