Definition

1. Verb:
   • To ponder: To think about something deeply and carefully over a period of time.
   • To brood over: To think persistently, often anxiously or unhappily, about something.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Anh ấy ngồi một mình nghiền ngẫm một vấn đề. (He sat alone to ponder a question.)
  • Cô ấy thường nghiền ngẫm nỗi bất hạnh của mình. (She often broods over her misfortune.)
  • Nhà triết học nghiền ngẫm về ý nghĩa của cuộc sống. (The philosopher pondered the meaning of life.)

Advanced Usage

• The word implies a slow, thorough, and sometimes obsessive process of thought. It often involves turning a subject over and over in one's mind.

Variants and Related Words

• Suy ngẫm (v): To reflect, to contemplate. This is a close synonym but can be slightly less intense than "nghiền ngẫm."
• Ngẫm nghĩ (v): To think over, to consider.

Synonyms

• Ponder: To think about something carefully.
• Brood over: To think deeply about something that makes one unhappy.
• Mull over: To think about something for a long time.
• Ruminate: To think deeply about something (formal).

Related Idioms

• While "nghiền ngẫm" itself is not typically part of a fixed idiom, the action it describes is central to phrases like:
  • Ăn không ngon, ngủ không yên vì nghiền ngẫm: To have no appetite and sleeplessness due to brooding.

1. Ponder, brood over
   • Nghiền ngẫm một vấn đề
     To ponder [on] a question
   • Nghiền ngẫm nỗi bất hạnh của mình
     To brood over one's misfortune