khó nuốt
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- 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.
- Hard to eat
- Cơm khô khó nuốtDry rice is hard to eat.
- (thông tục) Hard to dọ
- Bài thi sinh vật khó nuốt lắmThe biology paperis very hard to do, the biology paper is stinker
- Bài toán khó nuốtA hard mathematics problem, a mathematics problem with is a hard nut to crack