Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Unaired, stuffy, lacking ventilation: Describes a space or environment that is enclosed, without fresh air circulation, causing a feeling of being closed in and uncomfortable.
   • Stifling, suffocating, oppressive: Describes an atmosphere that is not only airless but also unpleasantly hot and difficult to breathe in.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Căn phòng này quá hầm hơi, hãy mở cửa sổ ra! (This room is too stuffy; please open the window!)
  • Thời tiết hôm nay thật hầm hơi và ngột ngạt. (The weather today is really stifling and oppressive.)
  • Không nên để trẻ nhỏ trong xe ô tô đóng kín, nó sẽ trở nên rất hầm hơi. (You shouldn't leave a small child in a locked car; it will become very air-tight and suffocating.)

Advanced Usage

• Describing a tense or oppressive situation: While primarily physical, it can be used metaphorically to describe a social or emotional atmosphere that feels constricting and tense.
  • Bầu không khí trong cuộc họp thật hầm hơi với những lời chỉ trích. (The atmosphere in the meeting was stifling with criticism.)

Variants and Related Words

• Hầm (n/v): Can mean a cellar, bunker, or to stew/braise. Note: The compound "hầm hơi" is distinct, combining "hầm" (suggesting an enclosed, underground space) with "hơi" (steam/air) to create the adjective meaning "stuffy."
• Ngột ngạt (adj): Oppressive, suffocating; a very close synonym often used together with "hầm hơi" for emphasis.
• Bí hơi (adj): Literally "short of breath"; describes a feeling of being unable to breathe easily, often due to a "hầm hơi" environment.

Synonyms

• Ngột ngạt: Oppressive, suffocating.
• Bí bách: Stuffy, stifling, cramped (often for both physical spaces and situations).
• Thiếu không khí: Lacking air.

Related Phrases/Idioms

• Cảm thấy hầm hơi: To feel stifled/suffocated.
  • Tôi cảm thấy hầm hơi khi phải đeo khẩu trang cả ngày. (I feel stifled having to wear a mask all day.)
• Không gian hầm hơi: A stuffy/unaired space.
  • Hãy tránh những không gian hầm hơi để bảo vệ sức khỏe. (Avoid stuffy spaces to protect your health.)

1. Unaired, air-tight, stifling