Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Scrawny and stunted: Describes a person, animal, or plant that is unhealthily thin, underdeveloped, and frail, often due to malnutrition, illness, or poor conditions. It implies a combination of being skinny and small for one's age or type.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Đứa trẻ sống trong khu ổ chuột trông thật còm cõi. (The child living in the slum looks scrawny and stunted.)
  • Cây còm cõi này khó có thể ra hoa. (This stunted plant is unlikely to flower.)
  • Con mèo hoang ăn uống kham khổ nên người còm cõi. (The stray cat has a meager diet so its body is scrawny.)

Advanced Usage

• The word còm cõi is often used to evoke pity or describe the visible, pitiable results of hardship, poverty, or neglect. It is more emotive and literary than simply "gầy" (thin).

Variants and Related Words

• Còi cọc (adj): Also means stunted and underdeveloped, often used interchangeably with còm cõi, though còi cọc might place slightly more emphasis on lack of growth.
  • Cây trồng trong bóng râm mọc còi cọc. (Plants grown in the shade become stunted.)

Synonyms

• Scrawny: Unattractively thin and bony.
• Stunted: Having failed to achieve normal growth or development.
• Gaunt: Lean and haggard, especially from hunger or illness.
• Undersized: Smaller than is usual or normal.

Related Idioms

• While còm cõi itself is not typically part of a fixed idiom, it is conceptually related to phrases describing poverty and hardship, such as:
  • Ăn đói mặc rách: To be destitute, in rags.

    • Cuộc sống ăn đói mặc rách khiến lũ trẻ còm cõi. (A destitute life makes children scrawny and stunted.)

1. Scrawny and stunted