Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Very tall and thin, lanky: Describes a person or object that is exceptionally tall and slender, often to the point of appearing awkward or disproportionate. It emphasizes extreme height combined with a lack of bulk.
   • Gangly, spindly: Similar to "lanky," suggesting a tall, thin, and often ungraceful physical build.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Anh ta cao nghều như cây sào. (He is as lanky as a pole.)
  • Cái thang trông cao nghều quá, có vẻ không vững. (That ladder looks too tall and spindly; it seems unstable.)
  • Đứa bé mới lớn nên trông cao nghều. (The teenager has just had a growth spurt, so he looks very tall and gangly.)

Advanced Usage

• "cao nghều": This is the most common and natural collocation. The word "nghều" is almost always paired with "cao" (tall) to form the compound adjective "cao nghều," meaning "very tall and lanky."
  • Cậu thanh niên cao nghều bước vào phòng. (The very tall, lanky young man walked into the room.)

Variants and Related Words

• Nghênh ngang (adj): This is a different word meaning "arrogant" or "swaggering." Do not confuse it with "nghều."
• Cao lêu nghêu (adj): A synonym for "cao nghều," also meaning very tall and thin.
• Cao ngồng (adj): Another synonym, describing someone tall and thin, often with a slightly stiff or awkward posture.

Synonyms

• Cao lỏng khỏng: Tall and spindly.
• Gầy nhom: Very skinny, emaciated (focuses more on thinness than height).
• Dong dỏng: Slender and tall (more elegant and less extreme than "nghều").

Notes on Usage

• Register: "Nghều" is an informal, colloquial word commonly used in spoken Vietnamese.
• Typical Context: It is primarily used to describe people, especially during growth spurts in adolescence, or sometimes to describe tall, thin objects like poles or ladders.
• Important: "Nghều" is rarely used alone. It is almost exclusively used in the fixed phrase "cao nghều." Using it alone might sound incomplete or unnatural.

1. Very tall and thin, very lanky
   • Người gì cao nghều thế!
     What a very lanky person!