Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Faded, discolored: Refers to something that has lost its original color or brightness due to time, use, or exposure to the elements.
   • Exhausted, depleted, impoverished: Describes land or soil that has lost its fertility and nutrients due to overuse or poor management.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Chiếc áo này đã bạc màu sau nhiều lần giặt. (This shirt has faded after many washes.)
  • Vùng đất này đã trở nên bạc màu vì canh tác không hợp lý. (This land has become exhausted due to improper farming.)

Advanced Usage

• "bạc màu vì mưa nắng": faded due to sun and rain (weathering).
  • Bức tường ngoài trời đã bạc màu vì mưa nắng. (The outdoor wall has faded due to sun and rain.)
• "cuộc sống bạc màu": a dull, faded, or impoverished life (often metaphorical).
  • Sau biến cố, cuộc sống của ông ấy dường như bạc màu hẳn. (After the incident, his life seemed to have faded considerably.)

Variants and Related Words

• Phai màu (verb phrase): to fade, to lose color. This is a more common verb phrase for the process of fading.
  • Vải này dễ phai màu khi giặt. (This fabric fades easily when washed.)
• Cằn cỗi (adj): barren, arid (often used for land). This emphasizes a lack of life or productivity more than color loss.
  • Đất đai cằn cỗi không thể trồng trọt. (Barren land cannot be cultivated.)
• Nghèo nàn (adj): poor, impoverished. Can describe land or, more broadly, resources or quality.
  • Đất nghèo nàn chất dinh dưỡng. (Soil poor in nutrients.)

Synonyms

• Phai (adj/faded): lost color.
• Héo hon (adj/withered, depleted): often used for plants or metaphorically for spirits, but can relate to the "exhausted" sense.
• Kiệt quệ (adj/exhausted, depleted): emphasizes complete exhaustion of strength or resources, applicable to land.

Related Phrases

• Làm bạc màu: to cause to fade or become exhausted.
  • Ánh nắng mặt trời làm bạc màu sơn xe. (Sunlight causes car paint to fade.)
• Trở nên bạc màu: to become faded or exhausted.
  • Tình bạn của họ đã trở nên bạc màu theo thời gian. (Their friendship has faded over time.)

Related Idioms

• Tình bạc như vôi: (lit. love as pale as lime) An idiom describing fickle, shallow, or faded love/feelings. While not using "bạc màu" directly, it shares the root "bạc" (pale, shallow) and relates to the concept of loss of original quality.
  • Anh ta thề non hẹn biển, nhưng rồi tình bạc như vôi. (He made grand promises, but then his affection proved fickle.)

adj

1. Impoverished, exhausted, overcropped
   • cải tạo đất bạc màu
     to improve exhausted soil