Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Steaming hot, piping hot, very hot: Used to describe food, drinks, or objects that are at a very high temperature, often freshly prepared or heated. It emphasizes the heat is intense and fresh.
   • Fresh, hot off the press, brand new: Used figuratively to describe news, information, or events that are very recent, current, and of immediate interest.

Usage Examples

• Adjective (literal - temperature):

  • Bánh mì nóng hổi vừa ra lò. (A steaming hot baguette fresh from the oven.)
  • Anh ấy uống tách cà phê nóng hổi. (He drank a piping hot cup of coffee.)

• Adjective (figurative - recency):

  • Tin nóng hổi từ trận đấu. (Hot-off-the-press news from the match.)
  • Cô ấy kể cho tôi nghe tin tức nóng hổi. (She told me the hot news.)

Advanced Usage

• The word "hổi" in "nóng hổi" adds an expressive, emphatic quality, intensifying the core meaning of "nóng" (hot). It conveys a sense that the heat or the newness is palpable and vivid.

Variants and Related Words

• Nóng (adj): Hot (in temperature); current or trending (for topics). This is the root word without the emphatic intensity.

  • Trời rất nóng. (The weather is very hot.)
  • Chủ đề nóng. (A hot topic.)

• Nóng bỏng (adj): Scorching hot, burning hot; (figuratively) urgent, pressing, or passionate.

  • Vấn đề nóng bỏng. (A burning issue.)

Synonyms

• Steaming hot, piping hot (for temperature).
• Fresh, latest, up-to-the-minute, breaking (for news/information).

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Nóng hổi vừa thổi vừa ăn: An idiom meaning "so hot you have to blow on it while eating," used to describe something very fresh, immediate, or literally very hot.
  • Thông tin này nóng hổi vừa thổi vừa ăn đây. (This information is fresh off the grill.)

1. Steaming hot, hot
   • Bát phở nóng hổi
     A steaming hot bowl of noodle soup
   • Tin nóng hổi
     Hot news