chói tai
Definition
- Adjective:
- Piercing, shrill, grating to the ears: Describes a sound that is unpleasantly loud, high-pitched, harsh, or discordant, causing discomfort or pain to the listener.
- Strident, cacophonous: Refers to a sound that is loud and jarring, often lacking harmony.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Tiếng còi báo động nghe rất chói tai. (The alarm siren sounds very piercing.)
- Cô ấy có giọng nói the thé và chói tai. (She has a shrill and grating voice.)
- Âm thanh từ chiếc loa hỏng thật chói tai. (The sound from the broken speaker is truly jarring.)
Advanced Usage
- "làm chói tai": to be ear-piercing, to grate on the ears.
- Tiếng kim loại cọ xát vào nhau làm chói tai người nghe. (The sound of metal scraping against metal grates on the listeners' ears.)
Variants and Related Words
- Chói (adj): glaring, dazzling (usually for light). (The sunlight is glaring.)
- Chói lọi (adj): brilliantly dazzling, resplendent. (A resplendent victory.)
- Note: While "chói" relates to overwhelming light, "chói tai" is specific to overwhelming sound.
Synonyms
- Loáng tai: (less common) shrill to the ears.
- The thé: shrill, screechy (often for voices).
- Leng keng: jangling, clanging (for metallic sounds).
Related Phrases/Idioms
- Đinh tai nhức óc / Đinh tai nhức óc: (Idiom) literally "piercing ears, aching brain"; describes an extremely loud, irritating, and headache-inducing noise. It is stronger than "chói tai."
- Tiếng ồn từ công trường đinh tai nhức óc. (The noise from the construction site is deafening and headache-inducing.)