Definition

1. Verb phrase:
   • To feel the delayed effect of a blow or punishment: To begin to suffer the physical pain or negative consequences of a hit, strike, or reprimand some time after it was received.
   • To have something "sink in" or "tell on" someone: To experience the full, often negative, impact or lesson of an event, action, or criticism after a period of time.

Usage Examples

• Verb phrase:
  • Hôm qua bị phạt, hôm nay nó mới ngấm đòn. (He was punished yesterday, but it's only today that he's really feeling the effect.)
  • Trận đấu hôm qua rất căng thẳng, sáng nay tôi ngấm đòn, toàn thân đau nhức. (Yesterday's match was very intense; this morning I'm feeling it, my whole body aches.)
  • Lời phê bình của sếp khiến anh ấy ngấm đòn và quyết tâm thay đổi. (The boss's criticism finally sank in, and he decided to change.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase often implies a delayed reaction or a dawning realization of consequences. It is frequently used in both literal (physical) and figurative (emotional, psychological) contexts.
• It can describe the process of learning a hard lesson through experience.

Variants and Related Words

• Ngấm (v): To soak in, to permeate, to be absorbed. This is the root verb conveying the idea of something seeping in slowly.
• Đòn (n): A blow, a strike, a punishment.

Synonyms

• To feel the after-effects
• To have something sink in
• To be told on by something (as in, "the strain is telling on him")
• To suffer the delayed consequences

Related Idioms

• Ăn đòn: To get beaten, to receive a beating.
  • Nó ăn đòn vì không nghe lời. (He got a beating for not listening.)
• Ngấm ngầm: Secretly, in a hidden or simmering manner.
  • Sự bất bình trong nhóm đang diễn ra ngấm ngầm. (The discontent within the group is simmering secretly.)

1. Tell on (somebody)
   • Bây giờ giờ cậu ta mới ngấm đòn hôm qua
     Yesterday's blows are telling on him now