Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Weakly, Faintly, or With Difficulty: Describes a state of extreme physical weakness, often pertaining to breathing or life force that is barely perceptible, labored, or faltering. It implies a fragile, tenuous condition, typically associated with severe illness, exhaustion, or the moments near death.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Bệnh nhân thở hoi hóp trên giường bệnh. (The patient breathes weakly in the sickbed.)
  • Sau trận ốm nặng, sức khỏe anh ấy vẫn còn hoi hóp. (After the serious illness, his health is still very frail.)
  • Ngọn lửa trong lò sưởi cháy hoi hóp. (The fire in the fireplace burns faintly.)

Advanced Usage

• This word is primarily literary or descriptive and is often used to evoke a vivid image of fragility. It is not common in casual, everyday conversation.

Variants and Related Words

• Thoi thóp (adj): A more common synonym meaning "gasping," "faint," or "flickering (like a dying flame)." is considered a rare variant of .
  • Mạng sống của nạn nhân chỉ còn thoi thóp. (The victim's life is hanging by a thread.)

Synonyms

• Faintly: In a way that is barely perceptible.
• Feebly: With a lack of strength.
• Labored (breathing): Breathing with great effort.
• Faltering: Losing strength or momentum.

Related Idioms

• While itself is not typically used in fixed idioms, its synonym appears in the common phrase:
  • Thoi thóp thở: To be gasping for breath; to be on one's last legs.

    • Công ty đang thoi thóp thở trước nguy cơ phá sản. (The company is gasping for breath on the verge of bankruptcy.)

adj

1. weakly