Definition

1. Adjective/Verb (to be in a state of): To be progressively thin, emaciated, or wasted; to become thinner and weaker over a period of time, often due to illness, worry, or hardship. It describes a gradual process of losing flesh and vitality.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Sau trận ốm dài, cơ thể anh ấy trông thật gầy mòn. (After the long illness, his body looks truly wasted.)
  • Khuôn mặt gầy mòn của bà ấy thể hiện một cuộc đời nhiều vất vả. (Her gaunt face reflects a life of much hardship.)
• Verb (state):
  • Lo nghỉ nhiều quá, cô ấy càng ngày càng gầy mòn đi. (Worrying too much, she is wasting away day by day.)
  • Cây cối gầy mòn vì thiếu nước. (The plants are withering due to lack of water.)

Advanced Usage

• The term often carries a connotation of pity or concern, describing a decline that is visible and concerning, not merely natural slimness.
• It can be used figuratively to describe the weakening or diminishing of non-physical things, such as resources, hope, or energy.

Variants and Related Words

• Gầy (adj): Thin, slim (a more general, neutral, or permanent state).
  • Cô ấy vốn dĩ đã rất gầy. (She was inherently very slim.)
• Mòn (v/adj): To wear down, to erode, to become thin from friction or use. This root contributes the sense of gradual reduction to the compound "gầy mòn".
  • Bánh xe đã bị mòn. (The tire is worn out.)

Synonyms

• Emaciated: Abnormally thin or weak, especially because of illness or lack of food.
• Gaunt: (Of a person) lean and haggard, especially because of suffering, hunger, or age.
• Wasted: Reduced to a state of weakness and frailty.
• Withering: Becoming dry and shriveled; can be used figuratively.

Related Idioms

• Gầy như que củi: As thin as a stick (emphasizing extreme thinness).
  • Ốm nặng một trận, nó gầy như que củi. (After a serious illness, he became as thin as a stick.)
• Gầy trơ xương: So thin the bones are showing.
  • Con chó hoang gầy trơ xương. (The stray dog is skin and bones.)

1. Be wasting, lose fesh by degrees
   • Lo nghỉ nhiều quá càng ngày càng gầy mòn đi
     To be wasting away because of too many cares