khì
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Adjective:
- Unconscious, unaware, in a state of deep and oblivious rest: Describes a state of being completely unaware of one's surroundings, often due to deep sleep or absorption.
- Quiet, subdued, without fuss: Describes an action, especially laughter, that is soft, muffled, or not loud.
Reduplicative form (láy): "khì khì":
- With increased meaning: The reduplicated form intensifies the adjective, meaning "very quiet/unconscious" or "continuously in that state."
Usage Examples
Adjective (following a verb):
- Cậu ấy cười khì một mình khi đọc truyện cười. (He chuckled quietly to himself while reading a comic.)
- Sau một ngày làm việc mệt mỏi, anh ấy ngủ khì cả đêm. (After a tiring day at work, he slept like a log all night.)
Reduplicative form "khì khì":
- Đứa trẻ ngủ khì khì trong nôi. (The child is sleeping very soundly in the cradle.)
- Nghe thấy tin ấy, nó chỉ cười khì khì. (Upon hearing that news, he just chuckled softly and continuously.)
Advanced Usage
"Cười khì": To chuckle; to laugh a quiet, often involuntary or private laugh.
- Cô ấy cười khì khi nhớ lại kỷ niệm cũ. (She chuckled when remembering an old memory.)
"Ngủ khì": To sleep like a log; to sleep very deeply and soundly.
- Tiếng ồn không làm anh ấy thức giấc vì anh ấy đang ngủ khì. (The noise didn't wake him up because he was sleeping like a log.)
Variants and Related Words
- Khì khì (reduplicative): The intensified form of "khì," used to emphasize the state of being very quiet, unconscious, or continuous.
- Nó làm việc khì khì cả ngày không nói gì. (He worked quietly and diligently all day without saying a word.)
Synonyms
- Khẽ: softly, gently (often for sound or action).
- Say: deeply (as in "ngủ say" - to sleep deeply).
- Lặng lẽ: silently, quietly.
Notes on Usage
- "Khì" is rarely used alone. It almost always follows specific verbs like "cười" (to laugh) or "ngủ" (to sleep) to form set phrases.
- It functions as an adjective complement, describing the manner or state of the verb.
- The word carries a nuance of something being done in an unassuming, unbothered, or completely absorbed manner.
- Uconscious, quite
- Cười khìTo laugh a quite and unconscious laugh, to chuckle
- Ngủ khìTo sleep like a log.
- (khì khì) (láy, ý tăng)