lùn tè
Definition
- Adjective:
- Extremely short or stunted in stature: Describes a person, animal, or sometimes an object that is notably and often unattractively short or dwarfed. It carries a stronger, more emphatic, and often more derogatory connotation than simply "lùn" (short/dwarf).
- Pygmy-like: Resembling a pygmy in terms of very small size.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Nó cao có 1 mét 40, trông lùn tè. (He's only 1.4 meters tall, looking like an unsightly dwarf.)
- Cây cối ở vùng núi cao này mọc lùn tè vì gió mạnh. (The trees in this high mountain region grow stunted and dwarfed because of the strong winds.)
- Đừng gọi nó là lùn tè, nghe xúc phạm lắm. (Don't call him an unsightly dwarf; it sounds very offensive.)
Advanced Usage
- The term is almost exclusively used in informal, colloquial, and often derogatory contexts. It emphasizes not just small size but an unpleasing or disproportionate shortness.
Variants and Related Words
- Lùn (adj): Short, dwarf. A more neutral term for short stature.
- Người lùn (dwarf person).
Synonyms
- Stunted: Prevented from growing or developing properly.
- Dwarfed: Extremely small in size.
- Pygmy: A person of unusually small stature (can be neutral in anthropological contexts but potentially derogatory in general use).
Related Idioms
- Lùn tịt: An even more colloquial and derogatory variant with similar meaning.
- Thằng bé mãi vẫn lùn tịt. (That boy remains pathetically short.)
-
Unsightly dwarf, unsightly shoet
