Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Protruding or swollen belly: Describes a stomach that is noticeably distended or bulging outward, often used in a mocking or derogatory manner.
   • Pregnant (colloquial and pejorative): Used informally and usually with scorn to refer to a woman who is visibly pregnant, implying impropriety or lack of marriage.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Cô ta bị chửa ĩnh bụng. (She got pregnant with a swollen belly.)
  • Thằng bé ăn no, bụng nó ĩnh ra. (The boy ate his fill, his belly is protruding.)

Advanced Usage

• The word is almost exclusively used in the fixed phrase "chửa ĩnh" or "chửa ĩnh bụng", which carries a strong negative connotation of unwed or scandalous pregnancy.

Variants and Related Words

• Ĩnh ịch (adj): This reduplicative form emphasizes a state of being heavy, plump, or bulging, often describing a person's body or the sound of moving such a body.
  • Nó béo ra, trông ĩnh ịch. (He got fat, looking plump and heavy.)

Synonyms

• Phình: to swell, to bulge.
• Trướng: distended, bloated.
• Có bầu (neutral): to be pregnant.

Related Idioms

• Chửa ĩnh: to be illegitimately/unwed pregnant (a derogatory idiom).
  • Bị người làng dị nghị vì chửa ĩnh. (She was gossiped about by the village for being unwed and pregnant.)