lụ khụ

Ông cụ lụ khụ bước từng bước chậm rãi trên con đường làng.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Decrepit; frail and aged: Describes a person, typically elderly, who is physically weak, slow-moving, and shows signs of advanced age and diminished vitality.
   • Ricketty; dilapidated: Can describe an object or structure that is old, shaky, and in poor, unstable condition.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Ông cụ bước đi lụ khụ trên con đường làng. (The old man walked decrepitly down the village road.)
  • Cái ghế này lụ khụ lắm, ngồi cẩn thận kẻo gãy. (This chair is very rickety, sit carefully or it might break.)

Advanced Usage

• The term often carries a tone of pity or gentle observation regarding the frailty of old age. It is not typically used in a harsh or insulting way but rather descriptively.

Variants and Related Words

• Lụ khụ is a reduplicative word. Its base form "lụ" is not used independently in modern Vietnamese. The full meaning is conveyed by the duplicated form "lụ khụ."

Synonyms

• Decrepit: Worn out or ruined because of age or neglect.
• Frail: Weak and delicate.
• Rickety: Weak in the joints and likely to break.
• Feeble: Lacking physical strength, especially due to age.

Related Idioms and Expressions

• While "lụ khụ" itself is not commonly part of a fixed idiom, it is frequently used in descriptive phrases about aging.
  • Tuổi già lụ khụ: Decrepit old age.

    • Ông ấy đang đối mặt với tuổi già lụ khụ. (He is facing a frail and decrepit old age.)