Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Completely exhausted, utterly worn out, dead tired: Describes a state of extreme physical or mental fatigue where one has no energy left. It emphasizes a degree of tiredness beyond simple "mệt" (tired).

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Làm việc cả ngày, tôi mệt phờ rồi. (Working all day, I am completely exhausted.)
  • Sau chuyến leo núi, cả đoàn người mệt phờ. (After the hiking trip, the whole group was utterly worn out.)
  • Cô ấy thức trắng đêm học bài và giờ mệt phờ. (She stayed up all night studying and is now dead tired.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase "mệt phờ" is often used in informal, colloquial speech to vividly express extreme fatigue. It can be intensified with adverbs like "quá" (too) or "thật sự" (really).
  • Tôi cảm thấy mệt phờ quá! (I feel so utterly worn out!)

Variants and Related Words

• Mệt lử (adj): An idiom with a similar meaning of being extremely tired, likened to being "tired as fire."

  • Đi bộ cả buổi, chân tôi mệt lử. (Walking all afternoon, my legs are dead tired.)

• Mệt nhoài (adj): Extremely fatigued to the point of being limp or unable to move.

  • Luyện tập xong, vận động viên mệt nhoài. (After training, the athlete was completely spent.)

• Kiệt sức (adj/verb): to be exhausted, depleted of strength; a more formal term.

  • Anh ấy làm việc đến kiệt sức. (He worked himself to exhaustion.)

Synonyms

• Exhausted: Drained of energy.
• Worn out: Extremely tired, especially from hard work.
• Dead tired: Completely fatigued (informal).
• Spent: Having used all one's energy.

Related Idioms

• Mệt đứt hơi: So tired one is out of breath; exhausted from strenuous activity.

  • Chạy theo xe buýt, tôi mệt đứt hơi. (Running after the bus left me breathlessly exhausted.)

• Mệt thở không ra hơi: Similar to "mệt đứt hơi," emphasizing being too tired to even breathe properly.

  • Làm việc đồng cả ngày, ông ấy mệt thở không ra hơi. (Working in the fields all day, he was too exhausted to catch his breath.)