Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Soaking wet, drenched, sodden: Describes something, typically fabric or clothing, that is completely saturated with water or another liquid.
   • (Less common) In a state of copious, emotional weeping: Describes someone crying profusely, with tears streaming down their face.

Usage

• The word lướt mướt is primarily used to describe the physical state of being very wet.
• It often carries a nuance of being unpleasantly, uncomfortably, or excessively wet, as opposed to just damp.
• The usage related to crying is less frequent and considered more literary or descriptive.

Usage Examples

• Adjective (Wet):

  • Trời mưa, áo mưa rách nên người tôi lướt mướt. (It was raining, my raincoat was torn so I got soaking wet.)
  • Sau trận mưa rào, con đường đất trở nên lướt mướt và lầy lội. (After the downpour, the dirt road became sodden and muddy.)
  • Quần áo giặt chưa kịp phơi, để trong thùng lướt mướt cả ngày. (The washed clothes weren't hung out in time, they sat sopping wet in the basket all day.)

• Adjective (Crying):

  • Nghe tin buồn, cô ấy ngồi khóc lướt mướt. (Upon hearing the sad news, she sat crying her eyes out / in floods of tears.)

Advanced Usage

• "Khóc lướt mướt": To cry one's eyes out, to weep copiously. This is a fixed collocation when using the word in the context of crying.
  • Đứa trẻ bị ngã đau nên khóc lướt mướt. (The child fell and got hurt, so it cried its eyes out.)

Variants and Related Words

• Ướt sũng / Ướt đẫm: Also mean "soaking wet," often used interchangeably with lướt mướt for physical wetness.
• Sướt mướt (Note: Different word): An adjective meaning "overly sentimental," "mawkish," or "whiny." While the reference mentions it as similar, sướt mướt and lướt mướt have distinct primary meanings and should not be confused.

Synonyms

• Ướt nhẹp: Soaking wet, sopping wet (colloquial).
• Đầm đìa: Drenched, soaked (can be used for sweat or tears as well).
• Ẩm ướt: Damp, moist (less intense than lướt mướt).

Related Idioms/Phrases

• Ướt như chuột lột: (Idiom) Literally "as wet as a skinned mouse," meaning completely drenched, soaked to the skin. This is a stronger, more vivid idiom than lướt mướt.

1. Soaking wet
   • Mưa to quần áo lướt mướt
     To get one's clothes soaking wet in a heavy rain.
2. (ít dùng) như sướt mướt