mảnh khảnh

Cô gái mảnh khảnh đang đứng đọc sách trong công viên.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Slender and tall: Describes a person, typically a woman or girl, who is thin and gracefully tall, often implying a delicate and elegant appearance.
   • Slim and delicate: Refers to a physique that is thin, fine-boned, and fragile-looking, often with a connotation of gracefulness.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Cô ấy có dáng người mảnh khảnh. (She has a slender figure.)
  • Cô gái mảnh khảnh ấy là một vũ công ba lê. (That slim and delicate girl is a ballet dancer.)
  • Bàn tay cô ấy thon dài và mảnh khảnh. (Her hands are long, thin, and delicate.)

Advanced Usage

• The word "mảnh khảnh" often carries a positive, aesthetic appreciation for a person's build, contrasting with neutral or negative words for thinness like "gầy" (skinny). It is most commonly applied to women.

Variants and Related Words

• Mảnh dẻ (adj): Also means slender and delicate, very similar in meaning and usage to "mảnh khảnh."

  • Cô ấy mặc váy rất hợp với thân hình mảnh dẻ. (She wears dresses that suit her slender figure well.)

• Thanh mảnh (adj): Slender and refined, emphasizing elegance.

  • Dáng người thanh mảnh (A refined, slender stature)

Synonyms

• Slender: Gracefully thin.
• Svelte: Slender and elegant.
• Willowy: Tall, slender, and graceful.
• Delicate: Fine-boned and fragile in appearance.

Related Idioms

• While "mảnh khảnh" itself is not typically part of a fixed idiom, it is often used in descriptive phrases that paint a poetic image, such as:
  • Mảnh khảnh như cành mai (As slender as a plum blossom branch).