cả thẹn
Definition
- Adjective:
- Shy, bashful: Describes a person who is easily embarrassed, modest, or self-conscious, often blushing or feeling awkward in social situations.
- Prudish, overly modest: Can describe someone who is excessively or affectedly modest, especially regarding matters of propriety or decorum.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Cô ấy là một người rất cả thẹn. (She is a very shy person.)
- Đừng cả thẹn quá như vậy! (Don't be so prudish!)
- Ánh mắt cả thẹn của cậu bé rất đáng yêu. (The boy's bashful look is very endearing.)
Advanced Usage
- The word can carry a slightly negative or critical connotation when implying that someone's shyness or modesty is excessive, affected, or hindering.
Variants and Related Words
- Thẹn (adj): shy, ashamed. A simpler, more common root.
- Cô ấy thẹn đỏ mặt. (She blushed with shyness.)
- E thẹn (adj): shy, timid. A more literary synonym.
- Xấu hổ (adj): ashamed, embarrassed. Focuses more on the feeling of shame than innate shyness.
Synonyms
- Bashful: shy and easily embarrassed.
- Coy: pretending shyness or modesty to be alluring.
- Demure: reserved, modest, and shy.
- Prudish: excessively concerned with propriety or decorum.
Related Idioms
- While "cả thẹn" itself is not typically part of a common idiom, the concept is related to phrases about shyness:
- Thẹn thuồng: to feel deeply ashamed or bashful.
- Anh ta thẹn thuồng không dám ngẩng mặt lên. (He was so ashamed he didn't dare look up.)
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Shy, self-conscious
