Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Stunned, dazed, as if out of one's senses: Describes a state of mental confusion, bewilderment, or stupefaction, often due to shock, grief, or a sudden overwhelming event.
   • Silly, foolish, stupid: Describes a lack of good sense or judgment; behaving in a silly or nonsensical way.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Anh ấy trông thật ngớ ngẩn với bộ trang phục đó. (He looks really silly in that outfit.)
  • Sau cú ngã, cô ấy cảm thấy hơi ngớ ngẩn và không nhớ chuyện gì đã xảy ra. (After the fall, she felt a bit dazed and couldn't remember what happened.)
  • Con chết đâm ra ngớ ngẩn. (To have been stunned by the death of one's child.)

Advanced Usage

• "Làm trò ngớ ngẩn": to act foolishly, to do silly things.

  • Đừng làm trò ngớ ngẩn trước mặt khách. (Don't act foolishly in front of the guests.)

• "Ý tưởng ngớ ngẩn": a foolish/silly idea.

  • Đó là một ý tưởng ngớ ngẩn nhất mà tôi từng nghe. (That's the most foolish idea I've ever heard.)

• "Ngớ ngẩn đến mức...": so foolish/silly that...

  • Anh ta ngớ ngẩn đến mức tin vào lời hứa đó. (He was foolish enough to believe that promise.)

Variants and Related Words

• Ngớ người (adj): To be dumbfounded, stunned (often physically or momentarily).

  • Nghe tin, cô ấy ngớ người ra. (Upon hearing the news, she was dumbfounded.)

• Ngẩn ngơ (adj): To be absent-minded, distracted, in a daze (often due to longing, pensiveness, or surprise).

  • Anh ấy ngẩn ngơ nhìn theo bóng hình cô ấy. (He gazed distractedly after her figure.)

Synonyms

• Ngu ngốc (adj): stupid, idiotic (stronger, more insulting).
• Khờ dại (adj): simple-minded, naive.
• Đần độn (adj): dull-witted, slow.
• Thẫn thờ (adj): absent-minded, in a daze (closer to the "stunned" sense).

Related Idioms

• "Ngơ ngác như gà mắc tóc": To look utterly bewildered and confused (like a chicken with tangled hair).
  • Nghe xong câu hỏi, nó ngơ ngác như gà mắc tóc. (After hearing the question, he looked utterly bewildered.) (Note: This idiom uses "ngơ ngác," a word closely related to "ngớ ngẩn" in describing a confused state.)

1. Stunned, as if out of one's sense
   • Đâm ra ngớ ngẫn từ khi con chết
     To have been stunned by the death of one's child