Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Ill, sick, unwell: "đau ốm" describes a state of poor health, suffering from sickness or physical discomfort. It often implies a general, sometimes chronic, state of illness.
   • Ailing: It can also convey a sense of being in a weakened or infirm condition over a period of time.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Ông ấy thường xuyên đau ốm. (He is frequently ill.)
  • Sau trận ốm nặng, bà ấy vẫn còn rất đau ốm. (After the serious illness, she is still very ailing.)
  • Cơ thể đau ốm không thể làm việc nặng. (An ailing body cannot do heavy work.)

Advanced Usage

• "Đau ốm liên miên": to be constantly/chronically ill.

  • Cụ già ấy đau ốm liên miên. (That old person is constantly ill.)

• "Hay đau ốm": to be prone to illness, to be sickly.

  • Đứa trẻ này thể trạng yếu nên hay đau ốm. (This child has a weak constitution so is prone to illness.)

Variants and Related Words

• Đau yếu (adj): A synonym with the same meaning as "đau ốm" (ill, sickly, infirm).

  • Sức khỏe ngày càng đau yếu. (His health is becoming increasingly infirm.)

• Ốm đau (n/adj): This is a common word order variant meaning sickness/illness (noun) or sick/ill (adjective). It is often used interchangeably with "đau ốm".

  • Phòng chống ốm đau. (Prevent illness.)

• Bệnh tật (n): Disease, sickness, ailment (more focused on the diseases themselves).

• Khó ở (adj, informal): To feel unwell, under the weather.

Synonyms

• Bệnh hoạn (adj): Sickly, diseased (can sound slightly more formal or severe).
• Yếu đuối (adj): Weak, feeble (focuses on lack of strength, which can be a result of illness).

Related Phrases

• Trận ốm (n): A bout of illness, a spell of sickness.

  • Anh ấy vừa trải qua một trận ốm dài. (He just went through a long bout of illness.)

• Thể trạng đau ốm (n phrase): A sickly physical condition.

  • Do thể trạng đau ốm, anh ấy phải nghỉ việc. (Due to his sickly condition, he had to quit his job.)

1. (cũng nói) đau yếu
2. Be ill, ail
   • Đau ốm suốt năm không làm được việc gì
     To be ailing the whole year and not be able to get anything done