gầy xơ
Definition
- Adjective:
- Very thin, emaciated: Describes a person or animal who is extremely thin, to the point where bones are prominent and the body appears frail and lacking flesh.
- Gaunt, skeletal: Conveys a sense of being unhealthily thin, often due to illness, malnutrition, or hardship.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Sau trận ốm nặng, anh ấy trông gầy xơ hẳn. (After the serious illness, he looks very gaunt.)
- Con chó hoang bị bỏ rơi trông gầy xơ và yếu ớt. (The abandoned stray dog looked emaciated and weak.)
Advanced Usage
- "gầy xơ xác": An intensified form meaning "completely emaciated" or "reduced to skin and bones."
- Những tù nhân trong trại giam được thả ra đều gầy xơ xác. (The prisoners released from the camp were all completely emaciated.)
Variants and Related Words
- Gầy (adj): Thin, slim. This is the neutral or base form.
- Gầy gò (adj): Skinny, scrawny. Similar to "gầy xơ" but may imply boniness without the same extreme connotation of frailty.
- Ốm yếu (adj): Sickly and weak. Focuses more on the state of health accompanying thinness.
- Tiều tụy (adj): Haggard, worn out. Describes a worn appearance often from suffering or exhaustion, which may include being thin.
Synonyms
- Hốc hác (adj): Hollow-cheeked, gaunt. Specifically describes a face sunken from thinness or illness.
- Khô héo (adj): Withered, shriveled. Often used for plants but can be used metaphorically for people.
Related Idioms
- Gầy như que củi: As thin as a stick. A simile emphasizing extreme thinness.
- Đứa trẻ thiếu ăn ấy gầy như que củi. (That undernourished child is as thin as a stick.)
- Da bọc xương: Skin wrapped around bones. A vivid idiom describing severe emaciation.
- Cụ già bệnh tật chỉ còn da bọc xương. (The sick old man is just skin and bones.)