Definition

1. Verb phrase:
   • To suffer from sunstroke, to get heatstroke: A condition caused by excessive exposure to the sun or high temperatures, leading to symptoms like headache, dizziness, nausea, or fainting. It is a specific type of heat-related illness.
   • To be infatuated, to develop a crush (colloquial, figurative): A modern, informal, and figurative extension of the term, comparing the sudden, overwhelming feeling of a crush to the sudden onset of sunstroke.

Usage Examples

• Literal meaning (medical/weather):
  • Hôm qua trời nắng quá, tôi bị cảm nắng. (Yesterday was too sunny, I got sunstroke.)
  • Trẻ em dễ bị cảm nắng nếu chơi ngoài trời lâu mà không đội mũ. (Children can easily get heatstroke if they play outside for a long time without a hat.)
• Figurative meaning (colloquial):
  • Anh ấy cảm nắng cô bạn cùng lớp ngay từ cái nhìn đầu tiên. (He developed a crush on his classmate at first sight.)
  • Cẩn thận kẻo cảm nắng người ta đó! (Be careful, or you'll get a crush on them!)

Advanced Usage

• "bị cảm nắng": This is the most common construction, meaning "to suffer from/get sunstroke" or "to be/become infatuated." The verb "bị" indicates something negative or unintended happening to the subject.
  • Tôi bị cảm nắng sau chuyến đi biển. (I got sunstroke after the beach trip.)
• "tránh bị cảm nắng": To avoid getting sunstroke.
  • Uống nhiều nước và mặc đồ thoáng mát để tránh bị cảm nắng. (Drink plenty of water and wear cool clothes to avoid getting heatstroke.)

Variants and Related Words

• Say nắng (Verb phrase): A more common synonym for the literal meaning of "cảm nắng" (to get sunstroke). "Say nắng" is slightly more casual.
  • Ông ấy bị say nắng phải vào viện. (He got sunstroke and had to go to the hospital.)
• Cảm (Verb): To catch a cold, to feel. This is the root word, but "cảm" alone usually refers to a common cold, not sunstroke.
• Phải lòng (Verb phrase): To fall in love. This is a closer synonym for the figurative meaning of "cảm nắng" but is stronger and less casual than the "crush" sense of "cảm nắng."

Synonyms

• Literal: Say nắng (to get sunstroke), Trúng nắng (to be struck by the sun).
• Figurative: Thích (to like), Mê (to be crazy about/infatuated with - stronger), Phải lòng (to fall for).

Related Idioms

• "Chết vì cảm nắng" (figurative, humorous): To be "dying" from a crush; to be extremely infatuated with someone.
  • Thằng bạn tôi chết vì cảm nắng cô ca sĩ đó rồi. (My friend is totally smitten with that singer.)

1. Get a sunstroke