chết hụt
Definition
- Verb phrase:
- To have a near-death experience; to narrowly escape death; to almost die: "chết hụt" describes the state of having come extremely close to death but ultimately surviving. It emphasizes the narrow margin of survival.
Usage Examples
- Verb phrase:
- Trong vụ tai nạn xe hơi, anh ấy đã chết hụt. (In the car accident, he had a near-death experience.)
- Cô ấy chết hụt vì bệnh viêm phổi nặng năm ngoái. (She narrowly escaped death from severe pneumonia last year.)
- Tôi cảm thấy như mình vừa chết hụt sau khi trượt chân suýt ngã xuống vực. (I felt like I had almost died after slipping and nearly falling off the cliff.)
Advanced Usage
"suýt chết" vs. "chết hụt": While both can mean "almost died," "chết hụt" often carries a stronger connotation of having been on the very brink of death and is sometimes used in more dramatic or formal contexts. "Suýt chết" is more common in everyday speech.
- Nó không chỉ suýt chết, mà thực sự là chết hụt. (He didn't just almost die; he truly had a brush with death.)
Used to describe a figurative escape from a disastrous situation (e.g., in business, sports).
- Đội bóng của chúng tôi chết hụt ở phút cuối trận đấu. (Our football team had a near-death experience in the final minute of the match.)
Variants and Related Words
Thoát chết (verb phrase): to escape death.
- Anh ta may mắn thoát chết trong vụ hỏa hoạn. (He was lucky to escape death in the fire.)
Cận kề cái chết (verb phrase): to be on the verge of death.
- Bệnh nhân đã cận kề cái chết. (The patient was on the verge of death.)
Synonyms
- Suýt chết (verb phrase): to almost die.
- Thoát nạn trong gang tấc (idiom): to escape disaster by a hair's breadth.
Related Idioms
- "Thoát chết trong gang tấc": to escape death by a hair's breadth. This idiom is very close in meaning and is often used interchangeably with "chết hụt" for dramatic effect.
- Người lái xe đã thoát chết trong gang tấc. (The driver escaped death by a hair's breadth.)