Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Panting; out of breath: Describes the state of breathing heavily, rapidly, and with effort, typically after intense physical exertion or due to a strong emotional reaction.
   • Gasping: Breathing with difficulty, often making short, quick breaths.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Cậu bé leo lên cầu thang, thở hổn hển. (The boy climbed the stairs, panting heavily.)
  • Sau khi chạy bắt xe buýt, cô ấy đứng hổn hển. (After running to catch the bus, she stood there gasping for breath.)
  • Anh ấy trả lời hổn hển vì quá sợ hãi. (He answered breathlessly because he was so frightened.)

Advanced Usage

• The word is often used in its reduplicated form for emphasis: "hổn ha hổn hển" or "hơ hổn hển". This intensifies the meaning, describing someone who is extremely out of breath or gasping desperately.
  • Vừa thoát khỏi đám cháy, anh ta ngồi phịch xuống đất, thở hổn ha hổn hển. (Having just escaped the fire, he plopped down on the ground, breathing in desperate, ragged gasps.)

Variants and Related Words

• Thở hổn hển (verb phrase): to pant, to gasp for breath. This is the most common collocation.
• Hơ hổn hển (adj): an emphatic variant meaning extremely out of breath.

Synonyms

• Panting: Breathing with short, quick breaths after effort.
• Gasping: Catching one's breath with an open mouth.
• Out of breath: The state of being unable to breathe easily due to exertion.
• Winded: Temporarily breathless from a blow or effort.

Related Idioms

• While "hổn hển" itself is not typically part of a fixed idiom, it is a standard descriptive term used in phrases depicting exhaustion, fear, or urgency.
  • Nói hổn hển: to speak breathlessly.
  • Chạy hổn hển: to run until one is gasping for air.

1. Panting
   • Chạy một lúc thở hổn hển
     To be panting after running a long distance
   • Hổn ha hổn hển (láy, ý tăng)