Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Worn out, exhausted (from long waiting or enduring): Describes a state of physical or mental fatigue caused by prolonged hardship, waiting, or suffering.
   • Gradually declining, wasting away: Describes something that diminishes or fades away slowly over time, often due to erosion, consumption, or the passage of time.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Anh ấy chờ đợi một tin nhắn trả lời trong sự mòn mỏi. (He waited for a reply message in weary exhaustion.)
  • Tình yêu của họ dần trở nên mòn mỏi sau nhiều năm xa cách. (Their love gradually became worn out after many years of separation.)
  • Những viên đá bị mòn mỏi bởi nước chảy qua hàng thế kỷ. (The stones were worn down by flowing water over centuries.)

Advanced Usage

• "Mòn mỏi chờ đợi": to wait wearily/with exhausted anticipation.

  • Cô ấy mòn mỏi chờ đợi người chồng đi chiến trường trở về. (She waited wearily for her husband to return from the battlefield.)

• "Mòn mỏi theo năm tháng": to be eroded/worn away by the years.

  • Những ký ức đẹp cũng không tránh khỏi bị mòn mỏi theo năm tháng. (Even beautiful memories cannot avoid being worn away by the years.)

Variants and Related Words

• Mòn (verb/adjective): to wear out; worn.

  • Đôi giày này đã bị mòn đế. (The soles of these shoes are worn out.)

• Mỏi mệt (adjective): tired, weary (more general physical/mental fatigue).

  • Sau chuyến đi dài, tôi cảm thấy rất mỏi mệt. (After the long journey, I felt very weary.)

Synonyms

• Kiệt sức: exhausted, depleted (often more sudden or severe).
• Hao mòn: to wear away, to deplete (often used for resources or physical objects).
• Tàn lụi: to wither, to fade away (often for plants or life force).

Related Idioms

• "Mòn con mắt chờ đợi": to wait until one's eyes are weary (to wait for a very long time with great anticipation).

  • Bà mẹ mòn con mắt chờ đợi tin tức của đứa con đi xa. (The mother waited with weary eyes for news of her child who was far away.)

• "Mòn mỏi ruột gan": to be worn out with worry/anxiety (literally: to have one's liver and intestines worn out).

  • Nghe tin con ốm, bà cứ mòn mỏi ruột gan. (Upon hearing her child was sick, she was worn out with worry.)

1. Wear out gradually, decline gradually.
   • "Ngày xuân mòn mỏi má hồng phôi pha " (Nguyễn Du)
2. Her youth had gradually declined and her looks had lost their freshness