Definitions

1. Adjective:
   • Hoarse, husky: Describes a voice that is rough, unclear, and difficult to hear or understand.
   • (Regional/Dialectal) Hulky, bulky: Describes a person's figure as large, heavy-set, and often slow-moving.

Usage Examples

• Adjective (Voice):

  • Ông ấy nói giọng ồ ề vì bị viêm họng. (He speaks in a hoarse voice because of a sore throat.)
  • Tiếng nói ồ ề của anh ấy khó nghe qua điện thoại. (His husky voice is hard to hear on the phone.)

• Adjective (Figure - Dialectal):

  • Anh ta có dáng người ồ ề. (He has a hulky figure.)
  • Cô ấy trông hơi ồ ề. (She looks somewhat bulky.)

Advanced Usage

• The term ồ ề is often used in informal contexts or in specific regional dialects (địa phương), especially when describing physique.
• When describing a voice, it implies a temporary or permanent quality that makes speech less clear.

Variants and Related Words

• Ộ ệ (variant/adjective): A less common variant, sometimes used with a similar meaning, particularly in certain dialects. It can also colloquially refer to the awkwardness of being heavily pregnant.
• Khàn khàn (adjective): Raspy, hoarse. A more common synonym specifically for voice quality.
• Ồm ồm (adjective): Describes a deep, resonant, and often loud voice, which can sometimes overlap with the unclear aspect of ồ ề.

Synonyms

• Khàn đặc (adjective): Very hoarse.
• Nặng giọng (adjective/phrase): Heavy-voiced.
• Lù đù (adjective - for figure): Clumsy, sluggish (can imply a bulky build).

Related Phrases/Idioms

• Nói giọng ồ ề (phrase): To speak in a hoarse/husky voice.
  • Sau khi hò hét cả trận đấu, tôi nói giọng ồ ề. (After shouting throughout the match, I spoke in a hoarse voice.)
• Dáng người ồ ề (phrase): A hulky/bulky physique.
  • Dáng người ồ ề khiến anh ấy di chuyển chậm chạp. (His hulky physique makes him move slowly.)

1. Hoarse, husky
   • Nói ồ ề khó nghe
     to be hardly intelligible because of one's husky voise.
2. (địa phương) Hulky
   • Dáng người ồ ề
     To have a hulky figure