cùm cụp
Definition
- Adjective:
- Drooping, sagging, hanging limply: Describes something that is not taut or upright, often due to being wet, weak, or lacking support. It typically refers to something that should be firm or perky but is instead hanging down loosely.
- Flaccid, limp: Can describe a soft, loose, and weak physical state, lacking firmness or vitality.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Lá cây cùm cụp sau trận mưa. (The tree leaves are drooping after the rain.)
- Đôi tai chú chó cùm cụp xuống mỗi khi nó buồn. (The dog's ears hang limply whenever it is sad.)
- Cành hoa hồng trông cùm cụp vì thiếu nước. (The rose branch looks limp due to lack of water.)
Advanced Usage
- "cùm cụp" to describe spirit/morale: Used metaphorically to describe a dispirited, listless, or deflated state.
- Tinh thần của đội bóng trông cùm cụp sau thất bại. (The football team's spirit looks deflated after the defeat.)
Variants and Related Words
- Cụp (Verb/Adj): To fold down, to droop. "Cùm cụp" is an intensified/reduplicative form of "cụp".
- Tai thỏ cụp xuống. (The rabbit's ears fold down.)
- Rũ xuống (Verb Phrase): To hang down, to droop. A common synonym.
- Ủ rũ (Adj): Drooping, wilted (often for plants); dejected, downcast (for mood). Shares the connotation of a sagging, lifeless state.
Synonyms
- Rũ rượi: Limp, languid, hanging down wearily.
- Xìu xuống: To go limp, to sag down (often suddenly).
- Ểo ẹo: Limp, floppy, not firm (can imply a lack of structural integrity).
Notes on Usage
- "cùm cụp xem cụp": This reference note indicates that "cùm cụp" is essentially a variant or an emphatic form of the word "cụp". Therefore, for core meaning, refer to "cụp" (to droop, to fold down).
- The word is primarily descriptive and visual, often used for parts of plants, animals (like ears, tails), or objects that lose their rigidity.
- It carries a slightly informal tone and is often used in spoken Vietnamese or descriptive writing.