mất hồn
Definition
- 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.)