Definition

1. Verb:
   • To have the shivers, to feel a sudden chill: "ớn mình" describes the physical sensation of a sudden, involuntary shudder or shiver, often due to cold, fever, or a feeling of fear or disgust.

Usage

• Usage Note: This verb is used to describe a reflexive, physical reaction. It is often triggered by an external stimulus like a cold draft, the onset of an illness, or a frightening/repulsive sight or thought.
• Common Collocations: It is frequently used with words indicating cause or sensation, such as (because of), (to feel), (to sense).

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Trời trở lạnh đột ngột khiến tôi ớn mình. (The sudden cold weather gave me the shivers.)
  • Nghe câu chuyện ma, nó ớn mình sợ hãi. (Listening to the ghost story, he shuddered in fear.)
  • Cô ấy cảm thấy ớn mình, có lẽ sắp bị sốt. (She felt a chill; perhaps she's about to get a fever.)

Advanced Usage

• "làm cho ai đó ớn mình": to give someone the shivers/to make someone shudder.
  • Cảnh tượng trong phim kinh dị làm cho khán giả ớn mình. (The scene in the horror movie made the audience shudder.)

Variants and Related Words

• Ớn lạnh (verb): A near-synonym meaning "to feel a chill," often used interchangeably with "ớn mình," though "ớn mình" can more strongly imply a startled or fearful reaction.
• Rùng mình (verb): To shudder, to shiver. This is a very close synonym but can sometimes imply a more visible or intense physical reaction.
• Nổi da gà (idiom): To have goosebumps. This describes a similar physical reaction but focuses on the skin's appearance.

Synonyms

• Shudder: To tremble convulsively, typically as a result of fear or revulsion.
• Shiver: To shake slightly and uncontrollably as a result of being cold, frightened, or excited.

Related Idioms

• Sợ ớn người / Sợ ớn xương sống: To be terrified (literally, "to be afraid to the core of one's spine"). This idiom uses "ớn" to intensify the feeling of fear.
  • Câu chuyện đó khiến tôi sợ ớn người. (That story scared me to death.)

1. Have the shivers