găn gắt
Definition
- Adjective:
- Harsh, severe, stern: Describes a manner, tone, or attitude that is very strict, sharp, and often lacking in gentleness or patience.
- Irritable, snappy: Describes a person who is easily annoyed and responds sharply or curtly.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Giọng nói của ông ấy rất gắt gao. (His tone of voice is very harsh.)
- Bà ấy trở nên gắt gao khi mệt mỏi. (She becomes irritable when tired.)
- Lời phê bình gắt gao của giáo viên khiến học sinh sợ hãi. (The teacher's stern criticism made the students afraid.)
Advanced Usage
- "cái nhìn gắt gao": a sharp, piercing look.
- Anh ta đưa ra một cái nhìn gắt gao về phía tôi. (He gave me a sharp look.)
- "thái độ gắt gao": a severe attitude.
- Thái độ gắt gao của anh ấy không giúp ích gì cho tình huống. (His severe attitude did not help the situation.)
Variants and Related Words
- Gắt (adj): Sharp, irritable, harsh. This is the root word, often used interchangeably or as a shorter form.
- Tính anh ấy hơi gắt. (His temper is a bit sharp.)
- Cáu gắt (adj): Irritable, quick-tempered. A compound emphasizing a state of being easily angered.
- Đừng cáu gắt với tôi. (Don't be snappy with me.)
- Gắt gỏng (adj): Testy, peevish, snappish. Similar to "gắt gao" but can imply a more nagging or persistently irritable quality.
Synonyms
- Nghiêm khắc: Strict, rigorous (focuses more on discipline than sharpness of tone).
- Khó tính: Hard to please, fussy (focuses on being picky or demanding).
- Cộc cằn: Gruff, brusque (focuses on rudeness or roughness in manner).
Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)
Note: As an adjective, "gắt gao" does not form phrasal verbs. Its usage is primarily attributive or predicative.
Related Idioms
- Nổi cơn gắt: To fly into a temper, to have a fit of irritability.
- Ông chủ nổi cơn gắt vì báo cáo bị trễ. (The boss flew into a temper because the report was late.)
- Mặt mày gắt gao: To have a stern or grim facial expression.
- Sao mặt mày cô ấy lại gắt gao thế? (Why does she have such a stern face?)