gầy gộc

Sau trận ốm nặng, anh ấy trông gầy gộc hẳn đi.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Extremely thin and gaunt: Describes a person who is excessively skinny, often to the point of appearing bony, frail, or undernourished. The word emphasizes a severe, unattractive, or unhealthy leanness beyond simply being slim.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Sau trận ốm nặng, anh ấy trông gầy gộc hẳn đi. (After the serious illness, he looks extremely gaunt.)
  • Đứa trẻ thiếu ăn có thân hình gầy gộc. (The malnourished child has a very skinny frame.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "gầy gộc" is often used with a negative connotation, implying a concerning or pitiful state of thinness. It is stronger and more descriptive than the neutral word "gầy" (thin).

Variants and Related Words

• Gầy (adj): Thin, slim. A more general and neutral term.
  • Cô ấy cao và gầy. (She is tall and thin.)
• Gầy guộc (adj): A variant form with identical meaning to "gầy gộc," also meaning very thin and bony.
  • Bàn tay gầy guộc của bà. (The bony hands of the grandmother.)

Synonyms

• Gaunt: Lean and haggard, especially from suffering or age.
• Skinny: Very thin, often implying a lack of flesh.
• Bony: So thin that the bones are prominent.
• Emaciated: Abnormally thin or weak, often from illness or lack of food.

Related Idioms

• While "gầy gộc" itself is not typically part of a fixed idiom, it is commonly used in descriptive phrases highlighting poor health or condition.
  • Gầy gộc như que củi. (As skinny as a stick.)