háu đói
Definition
- Adjective:
- To be ravenously hungry, to be famished: Describes an intense, urgent, and often impatient state of hunger. It implies a strong, almost greedy desire for food.
- To be eager, to be greedy for something (figurative): Can describe an intense craving or impatience for something non-food related, such as an opportunity, information, or experience.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Sau buổi tập, tôi cảm thấy rất háu đói. (After the workout, I felt ravenously hungry.)
- Đứa trẻ háu đói chờ bữa tối. (The child waited for dinner, famished.)
- Anh ấy háu đói kiến thức mới. (He is eager for new knowledge.)
Advanced Usage
- The term is often used to emphasize not just hunger, but an impatient, almost uncontrolled attitude stemming from that hunger. It can carry a slightly negative connotation of greediness or lack of restraint.
Variants and Related Words
- Háu ăn (adj): greedy to eat, having a big appetite; can also mean greedy in general.
- Đừng háu ăn như vậy trước mặt khách. (Don't be so greedy eating in front of guests.)
Synonyms
- Famished: suffering from extreme hunger.
- Ravenous: extremely hungry; voracious.
- Starving: suffering or dying from hunger (colloquially used for extreme hunger).
- Voracious: wanting or consuming great quantities of food (or something else).
Related Idioms
- Háu đói háu khát: to be desperately hungry and thirsty; often used figuratively to describe a strong, urgent desire for something.
- Các cầu thủ trẻ háu đói háu khát chiến thắng. (The young players are desperately eager for victory.)