Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Agitated, restless, in a state of emotional turmoil: Describes a feeling of inner disturbance, often caused by longing, worry, or intense emotion, making one's heart feel unsettled.
   • Nostalgic, wistful, filled with poignant emotion: Describes a sentimental and melancholic state of mind, often related to memories or longing.

2. Verb (used with "cảm thấy", "thấy"):

   • To feel agitated, to feel restless: To experience a state of emotional unease or disturbance.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • Anh ấy cảm thấy bồi hồi khi trở về ngôi nhà cũ. (He felt agitated / wistful when returning to his old house.)
  • Lòng cô bồi hồi khi nghe tin anh sắp về. (Her heart was restless / in turmoil upon hearing he was about to return.)
  • Những ký ức ấy khiến tôi bồi hồi khó tả. (Those memories make me feel an indescribable agitation / poignant emotion.)

• Verb:

  • Cô ấy bồi hồi nhớ lại những ngày tháng đã qua. (She fretted / felt restless with memories of the past.)

Advanced Usage

• "bổi hổi bồi hồi": This is a reduplicative form (láy) that intensifies the meaning, expressing an even stronger, more profound state of emotional agitation or longing.
  • Lòng tôi bổi hổi bồi hồi khi đứng trước ngưỡng cửa cuộc đời mới. (My heart was intensely agitated / in deep turmoil as I stood before the threshold of a new life.)

Variants and Related Words

• Bồn chồn (adj): Restless, fidgety (often implies physical restlessness due to anxiety or impatience).
  • Anh ấy bồn chồn chờ đợi kết quả. (He was fidgety / restless waiting for the result.)
• Xao xuyến (adj): Fluttered, stirred, emotionally moved (often by something beautiful, romantic, or touching).
  • Cô ấy xao xuyến khi nhận được bó hoa. (Her heart fluttered when she received the bouquet.)
• Thổn thức (verb): To sob quietly, to be choked with emotion (describes a physical manifestation of deep sadness or emotion).

Synonyms

• Xôn xao (adj): In a flutter, stirred up (describes a noisy or excited state, can be used for emotions or crowds).
• Băn khoăn (adj): Worried, anxious, preoccupied with thought.
• Thương nhớ (verb): To miss, to long for (often a cause of the feeling "bồi hồi").

Related Idioms

• Như đứng đống lửa, như ngồi đống than: (Like standing on a pile of fire, like sitting on a pile of coal) – An idiom describing a state of extreme anxiety, restlessness, or burning impatience, similar to the intense feeling of "bổi hổi bồi hồi".
  • Chờ tin cô ấy, lòng anh như đứng đống lửa, như ngồi đống than. (Waiting for her news, his heart was on tenterhooks / burning with anxiety.)

verb & adj

1. Fret, to be fretty
   • thương nhớ bồi hồi trong dạ
     to fret with an obsessive longing
   • bồi hồi nhớ lại những kỷ niệm xưa
     to fret with obsessive memories of the past
   • Đói lòng ăn khế xót xa Khế chua, muối mặn, lòng ta bồi hồi
     Hungry, one had to eat carambola which gave a prickly sensation, Now the obsessive memory of the sour and salt makes one's mind
   • bổi hổi bồi hồi
     to fret intensively
   • Nhớ ai bổi hổi bồi hồi Như đứng đống lửa như ngồi đống than
     One frets intensively with an obsessive longing for one's sweetheart, It is like sitting on thorns, being on pins and needles