Definition

1. Adjective (Idiomatic):
   • Hard to swallow; unpalatable: Literally describes food or drink that is physically difficult to swallow due to texture, taste, or condition.
   • Hard to accept; difficult to stomach: Figuratively describes news, facts, or situations that are emotionally or mentally difficult to accept due to being unfair, unpleasant, or shocking.
   • Hard to do; difficult to solve: A colloquial expression describing a task, problem, or piece of work that is very challenging or troublesome to complete.

Usage Examples

• Literal (Food/Drink):

  • Thuốc này đắng quá, khó nuốt. (This medicine is too bitter; it's hard to swallow.)
  • Bánh mì cũ khô cứng, khó nuốt. (The old bread is dry and hard, making it hard to swallow.)

• Figurative (Hard to Accept):

  • Lời chỉ trích của anh ta thật khó nuốt. (His criticism is very hard to swallow.)
  • Sự thật phũ phàng đó quá khó nuốt. (That harsh truth is too difficult to stomach.)

• Colloquial (Hard to Do):

  • Bài tập lập trình này khó nuốt thật. (This programming assignment is a real stinker.)
  • Đề thi toán hôm nay khó nuốt quá. (Today's math exam was very hard to do.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase is often used in informal, spoken contexts when describing challenging tasks or unpleasant truths. Its strength is colloquial and vivid.
• It can describe abstract concepts: (A hard-to-swallow defeat).

Variants and Related Words

• Khó ăn (adj): Literally "hard to eat," often used similarly for literal food or figuratively for difficult situations, though slightly less intense than .
• Khó chịu (adj): Uncomfortable, annoying. Describes a feeling rather than a task.
• Khoai (adj, slang): Literally "sweet potato," slang meaning something is tricky or difficult. (This problem is tricky!)

Synonyms

• Difficult: Requiring much effort or skill.
• Unpalatable: Not pleasant to taste or accept.
• Tough: Demanding, challenging.
• A hard pill to swallow: (Idiom) Something unpleasant that must be accepted.

Related Idioms

• Nuốt không trôi: Literally "cannot swallow it down." Used almost identically to the figurative sense of , emphasizing an inability to accept something.
  • Lời xin lỗi của hắn ta, tôi nuốt không trôi. (I can't swallow his apology.)
• Cay như ớt: Literally "hot as chili," sometimes used to describe a difficult or "spicy" (challenging) situation.

1. Hard to eat
   • Cơm khô khó nuốt
     Dry rice is hard to eat.
2. (thông tục) Hard to dọ
   • Bài thi sinh vật khó nuốt lắm
     The biology paperis very hard to do, the biology paper is stinker
   • Bài toán khó nuốt
     A hard mathematics problem, a mathematics problem with is a hard nut to crack