Definition

1. Noun:

   • Common cold: An illness, usually not serious, that causes symptoms like a runny nose, sneezing, and sometimes a slight fever. It is often caused by exposure to cold weather or a virus.
   • A cold: The state of having this illness.

2. Verb phrase (to have a cold): To be suffering from this illness. In Vietnamese, the verb "bị" (to suffer/get) or "mắc" (to catch) is typically used with "cảm lạnh".

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • Tôi bị cảm lạnh. (I have a cold.)
  • Mùa đông dễ bị cảm lạnh. (It's easy to catch a cold in winter.)
  • Triệu chứng của cảm lạnh là gì? (What are the symptoms of a cold?)

• Verb phrase:

  • Anh ấy đang cảm lạnh. (He is having a cold.)
  • Đừng để bị cảm lạnh. (Don't catch a cold.)

Advanced Usage

• "Trúng cảm lạnh": A more formal or literary way to say "to catch a severe cold".
  • Ông ấy trúng cảm lạnh vì dầm mưa. (He caught a severe cold from being out in the rain.)

Variants and Related Words

• Cảm hàn: A synonym, literally "cold-catch", with the same meaning as "cảm lạnh".
• Cảm cúm (Noun): Influenza, the flu. This is a more severe illness than "cảm lạnh".
• Cảm sốt (Noun): Having a cold with a fever.
• Cảm thường (Noun): Common cold (a more formal medical term).

Synonyms

• Cảm hàn: (as mentioned above).
• Bệnh cảm: Sickness from a cold (less common).

Related Phrases

• Phòng ngừa cảm lạnh: To prevent a cold.
  • Rửa tay thường xuyên giúp phòng ngừa cảm lạnh. (Washing hands frequently helps prevent colds.)
• Chữa cảm lạnh: To treat a cold.
  • Nghỉ ngơi và uống nhiều nước là cách chữa cảm lạnh đơn giản. (Resting and drinking lots of water is a simple way to treat a cold.)

Related Idioms

• Cảm nắng cảm gió: Literally "to catch sun and wind", meaning to easily fall ill from changes in weather, often used to describe a frail constitution.
  • Đứa bé này yếu lắm, cảm nắng cảm gió suốt. (This child is very weak, always catching illnesses from the weather.)

1. như cảm hàn