Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Numb with cold: The primary meaning describes a part of the body (like fingers, hands, or feet) that has become stiff, numb, and lacking sensation due to extreme cold.
   • Frozen stiff: Can describe a person or their entire body feeling extremely cold and immobilized by the low temperature.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Tôi không thể cầm chìa khóa vì các ngón tay tôi đã cóng. (I couldn't hold the key because my fingers were numb with cold.)
  • Trời tuyết rơi khiến đôi chân anh ấy cóng lại. (The falling snow made his feet freeze stiff.)
  • Chúng tôi đứng đợi xe buýt cho đến khi cóng cả người. (We waited for the bus until we were frozen stiff.)

Advanced Usage

• "rét cóng": A common compound meaning "to be frozen stiff / numb with cold," emphasizing the cause ( = cold).
  • Những người leo núi gần như rét cóng trong cơn bão. (The climbers were nearly frozen stiff in the storm.)

Variants and Related Words

• Tê cóng (adj): A synonym emphasizing both numbness () and stiffness from cold (). It is often used interchangeably with .
  • Gió bấc thổi khiến da mặt tê cóng. (The north wind blew, making the skin on my face go numb.)

Synonyms

• Numb: Lacking physical sensation.
• Frozen stiff: Extremely cold and rigid.
• Benumbed: Deprived of sensation.

Related Idioms

• Lạnh cóng / Rét cóng xương: An idiom meaning "bone-chillingly cold," used to describe weather or a feeling of extreme cold that seems to penetrate to the bones.
  • Thời tiết mùa đông ở đây lạnh cóng xương. (The winter weather here is bone-chillingly cold.)

adj

1. Numb with cold
   • người tê cóng vì lạnh
     Body numb with cold