woe
noun uk/wəʊ/ us/woʊ/
woes[ plural ] formal 困难；灾难；不幸
big problems or troubles
The country has been beset by economic woes for the past decade. 过去十年来这个国家一直受到经济困难的困扰。
Unusually poor harvests have added to the country's woes. 罕见的歉收加剧了该国的灾难。
[ U ] literary悲伤;悲哀
extreme sadness
Her face was lined and full of woe. 她满脸皱纹，一副悲伤的表情。
He told me a real tale of woe about how he had lost both his job and his house in the same week. 他给我讲了自己真实的不幸遭遇，是关于他如何在一周内既失去工作又失去房子的。
Idioms
woe betide someoneidiom （某人）要倒霉（或遭殃）
said when there will be trouble for someone, or someone will be punished, if they do a particular thing
This is the second time he's been sent home from school this month, so woe betide him if it happens again! 这是他本月内第二次被从学校赶回了家，要是再发生一次这样的事，他就要倒霉了。
woe is meidiom old use or humorous 苦啊;惨哪
said to express how unhappy you are
I'm cold and wet and I don't have enough money for the bus home. Oh woe is me! 我又冷又湿，连买张回家的公共汽车票的钱也不够。真是惨啊！