Definition

1. Adjective:

   • (Of the mouth) Widely open, gaping: Describes a mouth that is opened very wide, often in an unattractive or exaggerated manner.
   • (Colloquial, often derogatory) Ugly, distorted (when referring to a wide-open mouth): Used to describe an unattractive facial expression resulting from opening the mouth too wide.

2. Verb (used with "mồm" or "miệng" - mouth):

   • To gape, to open (the mouth) wide: The action of opening one's mouth very broadly.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • Cái miệng hệch của nó trông thật khó coi. (Its gaping mouth looks really unattractive.)
  • Nó cười để lộ hàm răng với cái mồm hệch. (It laughed, revealing its teeth with a wide-gaping mouth.)

• Verb phrase "hệch mồm/miệng":

  • Đừng có hệch mồm ra như thế! (Don't gape your mouth open like that!)
  • Nó hệch miệng cười toe toét. (It gaped its mouth into a broad grin.)

Advanced Usage

• "hệch mồm/miệng ra mà cười": to grin broadly/to gape and smile. This phrase emphasizes the action of smiling with a very wide, often ungracefully open mouth.
  • Thằng bé hệch mồm ra mà cười khi được cho kẹo. (The little boy gaped his mouth into a wide grin when he was given candy.)

Variants and Related Words

• Há hốc (miệng): To be agape, to be wide open (in surprise). This is a more common and less derogatory synonym for having one's mouth open wide, usually due to astonishment.
• Hếch: (of a nose) Turned-up, snub. Note: This is a different word ("hếch") describing an upturned nose, not to be confused with "hệch".

Synonyms

• Há (ra): To open wide.
• Mở to (miệng): To open (the mouth) wide.

Notes on Usage

• Register: The word "hệch" is primarily used in colloquial or informal Vietnamese. It often carries a negative or derogatory connotation, implying the action or appearance is unattractive, foolish, or excessive.
• Common Collocation: It is almost always used with words for "mouth" ("mồm" or "miệng") to form the verb phrase "hệch mồm/miệng". It is rarely used as a standalone adjective without this context.
• Visual Imagery: The word strongly evokes a visual image of a mouth stretched open beyond a normal smile or yawn, often in a crude or silly way.

1. (xấu) Gape
   • Hệch mồm ra mà cười
     To gape and smile, to grin