Definition

Verb: - To lose one's power of speech: To become unable to speak, typically as a result of a severe illness, stroke, or when nearing death. It describes a state of being struck mute due to a physical condition.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Người bệnh đã cấm khẩu. (The patient has now lost his power of speech.)
  • Sau cơn đột quỵ, cụ ấy bị cấm khẩu. (After the stroke, he lost his ability to speak.)
  • Bà ốm nặng và đã cấm khẩu mấy ngày nay. (She is seriously ill and has been unable to speak for several days.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is almost exclusively used in medical or grave contexts to describe a pathological loss of speech, not a voluntary silence. It often implies a serious, debilitating health crisis.

Variants and Related Words

• Bị câm (v): To be mute (from birth or due to a condition). This is a more general term for muteness.
  • Đứa trẻ không nghe được nên bị câm. (The child cannot hear and is mute.)

Synonyms

• To be struck mute: To suddenly lose the ability to speak.
• To lose the faculty of speech: A formal phrase for becoming unable to speak.

Notes on Usage

• "Cấm khẩu" is a specific and somber term. It is not used for temporary speechlessness due to shock or emotion. For those situations, words like "lặng người" (to be stunned into silence) or "nghẹn lời" (to be choked up) are more appropriate.
• The term is constructed from "cấm" (to forbid, to prohibit) and "khẩu" (mouth/speech), literally meaning "speech is forbidden" or "mouth is sealed" by the illness.

verb

1. To lose one's power of speech (when at the point of death)
   • người bệnh đã cấm khẩu
     the patient has now lost his power of speech