Definition

1. Noun:
   • Bookworm: A person who reads a lot and enjoys spending a great deal of time reading books.
   • Bookish person / Studious person: A person who is more devoted to studying and academic pursuits than to social or practical activities, sometimes perceived as being out of touch with everyday life.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Anh ấy là một mọt sách chính hiệu. (He is a genuine bookworm.)
  • Cô ấy bị gọi là mọt sách vì lúc nào cũng thấy trong thư viện. (She is called a bookworm because she is always in the library.)
  • Đừng sống như một mọt sách, hãy ra ngoài và trải nghiệm thế giới. (Don't live like a bookish person; go out and experience the world.)

Advanced Usage

• The term can carry a slightly negative or teasing connotation, implying someone is overly studious, pedantic, or detached from practical reality due to excessive reading.
  • Bài báo phê bình những chính trị gia chỉ là lũ mọt sách xa rời thực tế. (The article criticized politicians who are merely bookish people out of touch with reality.)

Variants and Related Words

• Ham đọc sách (v): to be fond of reading, to love reading books.
  • Từ nhỏ cậu ấy đã ham đọc sách. (He has loved reading books since childhood.)

Synonyms

• Bookworm: A person devoted to reading.
• Bibliophile: A person who loves or collects books.
• Pedant: A person who is overly concerned with formal rules and book learning (negative connotation).

Related Idioms

• While "mọt sách" itself is a noun phrase used idiomatically, a related concept is:
  • Sống trong tháp ngà: To live in an ivory tower (to be isolated from the practical problems of everyday life).

    • Nhà lý luận đó bị chỉ trích vì sống trong tháp ngà như một mọt sách. (That theorist was criticized for living in an ivory tower like a bookworm.)

1. Bookworm, bookish person