Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Dry; dried: Containing little or no water or moisture; having lost water content. This is the primary meaning, describing the state of an object, substance, or climate.
   • Very; completely (colloquial): Used as an intensifier in informal speech to mean "very" or "completely," often describing an extreme state.

2. Noun (abbreviation):

   • Dried fish: A shortened, common way to refer to "cá khô" (dried fish).

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • Cái khăn này đã khô rồi. (This towel is dry now.)
  • Thời tiết miền Trung thường rất khô vào mùa này. (The weather in Central Vietnam is often very dry this season.)
  • Bài diễn văn đó khô khan và nhàm chán. (That speech was dry and boring.)
  • Tôi mệt khô cả người. (I am completely exhausted.)

• Noun:

  • Mẹ mua khô về để kho. (Mom bought dried fish to braise.)

Advanced Usage

• "khô khan": dry, barren; often used figuratively to describe something lacking emotion, interest, or vitality (e.g., a dry personality, arid land).

  • Vùng đất khô khan không trồng trọt được. (The arid land cannot be cultivated.)

• "khô héo": withered, dried up (for plants).

  • Những cánh hoa đã khô héo. (The flower petals have withered.)

Variants and Related Words

• Phơi khô (v): to sun-dry, to dry by exposing to air/sun.

  • Họ phơi khô lúa trên sân. (They dry the rice on the yard.)

• Khô ráo (adj): dry (often implying comfortably dry, not damp).

  • Hãy chọn một nơi khô ráo để cắm trại. (Choose a dry place to camp.)

• Héo khô (adj): completely withered and dry.

  • Chiếc lá héo khô rơi xuống. (The completely withered leaf fell down.)

Synonyms

• Dry: lacking moisture.
• Arid: very dry, especially of climate.
• Desiccated: dried out thoroughly.
• Parched: extremely dry, often from heat.

Related Idioms

• Khô như ngói: as dry as a tile; meaning extremely dry.

  • Da tay anh ấy khô như ngói vào mùa đông. (His hand skin is as dry as a tile in winter.)

• Cạn khô: to dry up completely (used for liquids, resources, or energy).

  • Cái giếng đã cạn khô. (The well has dried up completely.)

adj

1. dry; dried
   • phơi khô
     to dry