Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Sickly whitish, sickly pale: Describes a color, typically of skin or complexion, that is unhealthily pale or has a washed-out, whitish appearance, often due to illness, fatigue, or poor health.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Sau cơn sốt, mặt anh ấy trông bềnh bệch. (After the fever, his face looked sickly pale.)
  • Làn da bềnh bệch của cô ấy khiến mọi người lo lắng. (Her sickly whitish skin made everyone worried.)
  • Ánh đèn huỳnh quang làm da cô ấy có vẻ bềnh bệch. (The fluorescent light made her skin appear sickly pale.)

Advanced Usage

• This word is primarily descriptive and often carries a negative connotation, implying an unnatural or unhealthy pallor. It is more vivid and specific than the more general "nhợt nhạt" (pale).
• It is typically used to describe human skin or complexion but can be extended metaphorically to describe things that share this quality of being unnaturally pale or lacking vitality.
  • Căn phòng được sơn màu trắng bềnh bệch. (The room was painted a sickly, washed-out white.)

Variants and Related Words

• Bệch (adj): Very pale, ashen. "Bềnh bệch" is an intensified, reduplicative form of this root word, emphasizing the degree of paleness.
  • Mặt tái bệch vì sợ hãi. (Face turned ashen with fear.)

Synonyms

• Nhợt nhạt (adj): Pale, pallid (can be neutral or negative).
• Tái mét (adj): Deathly pale, ashen (stronger, often from shock or fear).
• Xanh xao (adj): Pale, wan (often with a slightly greenish or sickly tint).

Notes on Meaning

• The word almost exclusively describes an undesirable, unhealthy state. It is not used for a naturally fair complexion.
• It emphasizes a lack of healthy color and vitality, often associated with sickness, exhaustion, or poor circulation.

1. Sickly whitish, sickly pale