Definition

Adjective: - Thin and weak / frail: Describes a person or living being who appears excessively thin and physically weak, often due to prolonged illness, malnutrition, or poor health. It emphasizes a state of being gaunt and feeble.

Usage Examples

• (After being sick for so long, he/she looks quite thin and weak.)
• (The child is malnourished and looks frail.)

Advanced Usage

• Literary/Descriptive Tone: The word "kheo khư" is somewhat rare and carries a descriptive, almost literary nuance. It is more likely to be found in descriptive writing or older speech than in everyday modern conversation.
  • Bóng dáng kheo khư của ông lão thấp thoáng trong sương. (The frail silhouette of the old man flickered in the mist.)

Variants and Related Words

• Gầy còm (adj): Skinny, scrawny, bony. This is a more common synonym.
• Yếu ớt (adj): Weak, feeble, frail. Often used in combination with "gầy còm" (gầy còm yếu ớt).

Synonyms

• Frail: Weak and delicate.
• Gaunt: Lean and haggard, especially from hunger or illness.
• Emaciated: Abnormally thin or weak, often from illness or lack of food.
• Scrawny: Unattractively thin and bony.

Related Idioms

• Gầy như que củi: As thin as a stick; skin and bones.
  • Sau trận ốm, anh ta gầy như que củi. (After the illness, he became as thin as a stick.)
• Da bọc xương: Skin and bones.
  • Bệnh nhân chỉ còn da bọc xương. (The patient is just skin and bones.)

1. Thin and weak
   • ốm mãi trông kheo khư lắm
     To look quite thin and weak after a long illness