nghều

Thân thiện

Anh thanh niên cao nghều đang đứng dưới gốc cây.

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.

Học thuật

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