Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Feeling impatient, anxious, or restless while waiting: Describes a state of inner agitation, worry, or eagerness due to anticipation or uncertainty about an outcome. It conveys a sense of heat or discomfort metaphorically located in the stomach/abdomen.
   • To have a bad feeling, a sense of foreboding: (Dialectal) To have ominous premonitions or a sense that something bad might happen.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Chờ mãi không thấy tin nhắn trả lời, tôi nóng ruột quá. (Waiting forever without seeing a reply message, I am burning with impatience.)
  • Mẹ nóng ruột chờ kết quả phẫu thuật của con. (The mother felt anxious waiting for her child's surgery results.)
  • Không biết tại sao, sáng nay tôi cứ thấy nóng ruột. (I don't know why, but this morning I just had a bad feeling.)

Advanced Usage

• "nóng ruột nóng gan": This is a stronger, more intense variant meaning to be extremely impatient, anxious, or furious. It literally translates to "hot stomach, hot liver," intensifying the feeling.
  • Nghe tin dự án có thể bị hủy, giám đốc nóng ruột nóng gan. (Upon hearing the project might be canceled, the director was beside himself with anxiety/impatience.)

Variants and Related Words

• Nóng lòng (adj): A very close synonym, meaning impatient or eager. It literally means "hot heart." The meanings of "nóng ruột" and "nóng lòng" are largely interchangeable in the context of impatience.
  • Các vận động viên nóng lòng chờ hiệu lệnh xuất phát. (The athletes were eager for the starting signal.)

Synonyms

• Sốt ruột (adj): To be impatient, restless. Very similar in meaning and usage to "nóng ruột."
• Lo lắng (adj): To be worried, anxious. This is a more general term for anxiety, while "nóng ruột" often implies anxiety specifically tied to waiting.
• Bồn chồn (adj): To be restless, fidgety, unable to sit still, often due to worry or anticipation.

Related Idioms

• Ngồi trên đống lửa: To sit on a pile of fire. This idiom describes a state of extreme anxiety, impatience, or unease, similar to an intense feeling of "nóng ruột."
  • Chờ phỏng vấn, cô ấy như ngồi trên đống lửa. (Waiting for the interview, she felt like she was sitting on a pile of fire.)

1. Burn with impatience