Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Hot, sultry, oppressively warm: "nực" describes a type of heat that is stifling, muggy, and uncomfortable, often due to high humidity and lack of breeze. It implies a sensation of stuffiness and discomfort.
   • Sweltering: It conveys the feeling of being overheated and sweaty due to intense, oppressive warmth.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Trời hôm nay thật nực. (The weather is really sweltering today.)
  • Ngồi trong phòng không điều hòa mùa hè thấy rất nực. (Sitting in a non-air-conditioned room in summer feels very hot and stuffy.)
  • Mùa nực ở đây thường kéo dài từ tháng Tư đến tháng Chín. (The hot season here usually lasts from April to September.)

Advanced Usage

• "nực cười": laughable, ridiculous (literally "hot to laugh," implying something is so absurd it makes you feel "hot" with amusement or derision).
  • Lý do anh ấy đưa ra thật nực cười. (The reason he gave is utterly laughable.)
• "nực nội": extremely hot and stifling; also used figuratively to mean very annoyed or frustrated (literally "hot inside").
  • Cái oi bức này làm tôi nực nội. (This mugginess makes me feel stifled and annoyed.)

Variants and Related Words

• Nóng (adj): hot. This is a more general term for high temperature. "Nực" is a specific, more oppressive type of "nóng."
• Oi (adj): muggy, close, sultry. Often used similarly to "nực" but can specifically emphasize stagnant, humid air. "Trời oi" and "trời nực" are very close in meaning.
• Nóng nực (adj): hot and stuffy. A compound word combining "nóng" (hot) and "nực" (stuffy), reinforcing the meaning of oppressive heat.

Synonyms

• Oi bức: muggy, sultry, stifling.
• Ngột ngạt: stifling, suffocating (can be used for heat or a tense atmosphere).

Related Idioms

• Nực như đổ lửa: (to be) as hot as if fire is pouring down; extremely and unbearably hot.
  • Giữa trưa, đường phố nực như đổ lửa. (At noon, the streets are as hot as a furnace.)
• Nực lòng: (to feel) hot-hearted; agitated, anxious, or upset.
  • Nghe tin ấy, bà ấy nực lòng vô cùng. (Hearing that news, she became extremely upset.)

1. Hot
   • Trời nực
     Hot weather
   • Mùa nực
     Hot season