Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Very dirty, grimy, or begrimed: Describes a person, especially a child, who is extremely dirty, soiled, or covered in filth.
   • Sloppy or unkempt in appearance: Can describe someone who looks disheveled, messy, or like a scarecrow due to dirtiness.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Con về nhà với quần áo đầy bùn, trông ma lem hết cả người. (The child came home with clothes full of mud, looking completely begrimed.)
  • Đến giờ đi học rồi mà vẫn như ma lem thế ư? (It's time for school already and you still look so filthy?)
  • Đứa bé chơi ngoài vườn cả buổi, mặt mũi ma lem. (The kid played in the garden all afternoon, face all grimy.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is often used in a mildly scolding or affectionate manner towards children who have gotten dirty from play.
• It can be used metaphorically to describe something as morally tarnished or sullied, though this is less common.

Variants and Related Words

• Lem luốc (adj): Synonymous with , meaning very dirty or slovenly.
  • Tay chân lem luốc vì nghịch đất. (Hands and feet are filthy from playing with dirt.)

Synonyms

• Filthy: Extremely dirty.
• Grimy: Covered with ingrained dirt or soot.
• Soiled: Made dirty.
• Bedaubed: Smeared or daubed with something dirty.
• Unkempt: Having an untidy or disheveled appearance.

Related Idioms

• Như ma lem / Trông như ma lem: To look like a mess; to look extremely dirty.
  • Nó lăn lê trên đất, trông như ma lem. (He rolled on the ground and looked like a total mess.)

1. begrimed, bedaubed, soiled