lặm
Definition
- Adjective:
- Extremely foul-smelling, stinking: Describes something that has a very strong and offensive odor. This is the primary meaning, indicating a high degree of unpleasant smell.
- Intensely (in a negative sense): Used as an intensifier, particularly in the reduplicated form "lằm lặm," to strongly emphasize a negative quality, most commonly bad smell.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Cái cống này bốc mùi lặm. (This sewer smells extremely foul.)
- Thịt hỏng có mùi lặm. (The spoiled meat has a stinking smell.)
- Mùi lằm lặm từ đống rác. (The intensely putrid smell from the garbage pile.)
Advanced Usage
- The word is rarely used in modern standard Vietnamese on its own. Its most common contemporary usage is in the reduplicated form "lằm lặm".
- "lằm lặm": This form acts as a strong intensifier, primarily for unpleasant odors. It conveys a sense of the smell being overwhelming, persistent, and deeply offensive.
- Ao tù nước đọng bốc mùi lằm lặm. (The stagnant pond emits a powerfully putrid odor.)
Variants and Related Words
- lằm lặm (adj): The reduplicated form, meaning intensely and offensively smelly.
Synonyms
- hôi thối: stinking, rotten-smelling.
- hôi nồng nặc: reeking, strongly and unpleasantly odorous.
- khẳm: (regional) having a strong, unpleasant smell.
Notes on Usage
- Register: This word is considered colloquial and is often used in descriptive, sometimes exaggerated, speech rather than formal writing.
- Frequency: The standalone form "lặm" is archaic or dialectal. The form "lằm lặm" is more recognizable to modern speakers but is still a strong, vivid descriptor rather than a common everyday word.
- Context: It is almost exclusively used to describe smells, not tastes or other sensations.