Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Completely finished, completely done for, completely exhausted: "hết ngỏm" is a very informal and often humorous or sarcastic idiom meaning something is totally finished, used up, broken, or a person is completely exhausted or defeated. It emphasizes a final, irreversible state.
   • Dead, kaput: In a more figurative or slang sense, it can describe something that has stopped working permanently or someone who is utterly spent.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Cái máy tính này hết ngỏm rồi, không sửa được nữa. (This computer is completely done for, it can't be fixed anymore.)
  • Sau trận đấu ấy, tôi cảm thấy hết ngỏm. (After that match, I felt completely exhausted.)
  • Kế hoạch của họ đã hết ngỏm từ lâu. (Their plan has been completely finished for a long time.)

Advanced Usage

• This term is highly colloquial and carries a tone of finality, often with a touch of dark humor or resignation. It is not used in formal writing or speech.
• It can be used for objects, plans, situations, or a person's energy/state.

Variants and Related Words

• Hết (v): to finish, to be out of.
  • Hết tiền (to be out of money).
• Ngỏm (v, slang): to die, to kick the bucket. Rarely used alone; most commonly appears in the fixed phrase "hết ngỏm".
• Hết xí quách (idiom, slang): Another very informal idiom with a similar meaning of being completely finished or exhausted.

Synonyms

• Hết hồn (idiom): Can mean "scared to death" but in some contexts implies being completely spent.
• Kiệt sức (adj): exhausted, worn out (more standard).
• Hỏng hẳn (v phrase): to be completely broken.
• Tan tành (adj): shattered, ruined.

Related Idioms

• Đi bán muối (idiom, slang): Literally "to go sell salt", meaning to be finished, to be done for. Similar informal register.
  • Công ty đó sắp đi bán muối thôi. (That company is about to be done for.)

Notes on Usage

• Register: Extremely informal, used in casual conversation among friends. Can be considered slightly vulgar depending on the context.
• Context: The phrase derives from the slang word "ngỏm", which itself is a crude term for dying. Therefore, "hết ngỏm" literally means "finished to the point of death". Its use should be avoided in polite or professional settings.