Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Short of breath, out of breath: The state of breathing with difficulty, typically due to physical exertion, illness, or exhaustion. It describes the feeling when one cannot breathe easily or deeply enough.
   • Exhausted, spent (figurative): Used metaphorically to describe a state of being mentally, emotionally, or financially drained, with no more energy or resources to continue.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Sau khi chạy lên cầu thang, tôi cảm thấy rất đuối hơi. (After running up the stairs, I felt very short of breath.)
  • Công ty đó đang làm ăn thua lỗ và có vẻ đã đuối hơi. (That company is operating at a loss and seems to be exhausted/financially spent.)
  • Đừng nói nhanh quá, bạn sẽ bị đuối hơi đấy. (Don't talk so fast, you'll get out of breath.)

Advanced Usage

• "làm ai đuối hơi": to exhaust someone, to wear someone out (often in an argument, competition, or prolonged effort).
  • Cuộc tranh luận kéo dài đã làm đối thủ của anh ấy đuối hơi. (The prolonged debate exhausted his opponent.)
• "cuộc chiến đuối hơi": a war/contest of attrition; a prolonged struggle that drains all sides.
  • Hai đội bóng đã tham gia vào một cuộc chiến đuối hơi dưới cái nóng. (The two football teams engaged in a war of attrition in the heat.)

Variants and Related Words

• Hụt hơi (adj): Similar to "đuối hơi," meaning short of breath, gasping. Often used more for the immediate, acute physical sensation.
  • Tôi bị hụt hơi vì ngạc nhiên. (I was left gasping in surprise.)
• Mệt lử (adj): Extremely tired, exhausted (more general, not specifically related to breath).
  • Làm việc cả ngày khiến tôi mệt lử. (Working all day made me dead tired.)

Synonyms

• Thở dốc (verb phrase): to pant, to breathe heavily.
• Kiệt sức (adj): exhausted, depleted (of strength).

Related Phrases

• Đuối sức (adj): physically weak, lacking strength. While "đuối hơi" focuses on breath, "đuối sức" focuses on overall physical power.
  • Sau trận ốm, anh ấy vẫn còn đuối sức. (After the illness, he is still physically weak.)
• Hết hơi (adj/verb phrase): colloquial for being out of breath or, figuratively, being out of options/energy.
  • Chạy một mạch khiến nó hết hơi. (Running non-stop made him out of breath.)

Related Idioms

• "Chạy đuối hơi": to run until out of breath; to struggle to keep up (literally and figuratively).
  • Cậu ấy phải chạy đuối hơi mới theo kịp nhóm. (He had to run until he was out of breath to catch up with the group.)
  • Công ty nhỏ phải chạy đuối hơi để cạnh tranh với các tập đoàn. (The small company has to struggle to keep up competing with the corporations.)

1. Short of breath, short-winded