Definition

1. Adjective/Verb phrase:
   • To be terrified out of one's wits; to be scared to death: The primary meaning of "mất hồn" describes a state of extreme fear or shock where one feels they have lost their soul or spirit, leading to a temporary inability to think or act.
   • To be stunned; to be dumbfounded: It can also describe a state of being utterly astonished or bewildered, as if one's spirit has left the body.

Usage Examples

• Adjective/Verb phrase:
  • Nghe tiếng nổ, nó mất hồn chạy. (Hearing the explosion, he was scared out of his wits and ran.)
  • Cô ấy đứng mất hồn trước tin dữ. (She stood there, stunned, upon hearing the bad news.)
  • Cảnh tượng kinh hoàng khiến tôi gần như mất hồn. (The horrifying scene almost scared me to death.)

Advanced Usage

• "mất hồn mất vía": This is an intensified, more colloquial variant meaning "to be utterly and completely terrified."
  • Thấy ma, đứa bé mất hồn mất vía khóc thét. (Seeing the ghost, the child was utterly terrified and screamed.)

Variants and Related Words

• Hồn vía (n): soul and vital spirit; often used to refer to one's composure or wits.
  • Giật mình hồn vía lên mây. (To be so startled one's soul flies to the clouds - a common saying for being frightened.)

Synonyms

• Terrified: filled with extreme fear.
• Petrified: so frightened as to be unable to move.
• Stunned: shocked or astonished.
• Dumbfounded: greatly astonished.

Related Idioms

• Mất hồn mất vía: as described above, an idiom for extreme terror.
• Hồn xiêu phách lạc: (soul adrift, spirit scattered) a literary synonym for being frightened out of one's wits.
  • Lạc trong rừng đêm, hắn hồn xiêu phách lạc. (Lost in the night forest, he was frightened out of his wits.)