mệt lử
Definition
- Adjective (idiomatic phrase):
- Exhausted to the point of being unable to move; utterly spent, dead tired. This phrase intensifies the basic state of being tired ("mệt") to an extreme degree, suggesting a fatigue so profound that one feels burnt out or completely drained of energy.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Làm việc cả ngày dưới trời nắng, tôi mệt lử. (Working all day under the sun, I am dead tired.)
- Sau chuyến leo núi, cả đoàn người mệt lử. (After the hiking trip, the whole group was utterly exhausted.)
- Đừng gọi nó dậy, nó mệt lử rồi. (Don't wake him up; he's completely worn out.)
Advanced Usage
- The phrase "mệt lử" is often used for dramatic emphasis in spoken language. It can describe both physical exhaustion from labor or exercise and mental/emotional fatigue.
- Dọn dẹp nhà cửa cả tuần khiến chị ấy mệt lử. (Cleaning the house for a whole week left her completely drained.)
Variants and Related Words
- Mệt mỏi (adj): tired, weary (less intense than "mệt lử").
- Cô ấy cảm thấy mệt mỏi sau cuộc họp dài. (She felt weary after the long meeting.)
- Kiệt sức (adj): exhausted, depleted of strength (similar in intensity to "mệt lử" but more formal/clinical).
- Vận động viên bị kiệt sức khi về đích. (The athlete was exhausted when he reached the finish line.)
- Mệt đứt hơi / Mệt nhoài (adj, idiomatic): other colloquial phrases for extreme tiredness.
- Chạy bộ 10km, anh ấy mệt nhoài. (After running 10km, he was completely knackered.)
Synonyms
- Dead tired
- Utterly exhausted
- Worn out
- Drained
- Spent
- Fatigued
Related Idioms
- Mệt phờ người: another idiomatic expression meaning extremely tired, to the point where one's body feels limp.
- Làm thêm giờ liên tục, anh ta mệt phờ người. (Working overtime continuously, he was dog-tired.)
- While "mệt lử" itself is an idiom, it is often the core descriptive phrase and is not typically part of a larger, fixed metaphorical expression.