lặng người
Definition
- Adjective (describing a state):
- Stunned; speechless; motionless: A state of being completely still and silent due to a powerful, sudden emotion such as shock, grief, awe, or overwhelming news. It describes a temporary paralysis of reaction.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Cô ấy lặng người khi nghe tin dữ. (She was stunned speechless upon hearing the bad news.)
- Anh ấy đứng lặng người trước cảnh tượng quá đẹp. (He stood motionless before the overly beautiful scene.)
- Tôi lặng người đi vì quá tức giận. (I was rendered silent from extreme anger.)
Advanced Usage
- The phrase often describes a physical and emotional reaction that happens in an instant, freezing a person in place. It emphasizes an internal shock so strong that it momentarily stops all external movement and speech.
Variants and Related Words
Lặng đi (v): to fall silent, to become quiet (often due to emotion).
- Mọi người đều *lặng đi khi cô ấy bắt đầu kể chuyện.* (Everyone fell silent when she began her story.)
Sững sờ (adj): astonished, dumbfounded (shares a similar meaning of shock but may imply a more active state of disbelief).
- Tin đó khiến mọi người *sững sờ.* (That news left everyone dumbfounded.)
Synonyms
- Stunned: shocked into silence or inactivity.
- Speechless: unable to speak due to strong emotion.
- Motionless: without movement.
- Transfixed: made motionless by awe, terror, or amazement.
Related Idioms
- Chết lặng: (lit. to die silent) to be deathly still or silent; an even stronger expression of shock or fear.
- Căn phòng chết lặng sau lời tuyên bố. (The room fell deathly silent after the announcement.)