Definition

1. Verb:
   • To gape: To open one's mouth widely, often in a sudden, exaggerated, or uncontrolled manner.
   • To open wide: To cause something, especially the mouth, to become very wide open.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Đứa trẻ ngoạc miệng khi ngạc nhiên. (The child gaped in surprise.)
  • Con cá sấu ngoạc hàm rộng. (The crocodile opened its jaws wide.)
  • Đừng ngoạc miệng như thế, nó rất mất lịch sự. (Don't gape your mouth like that; it's very impolite.)

Advanced Usage

• The verb is almost exclusively used to describe the action of opening the mouth or jaws. It carries a connotation of an unattractive, rude, or animalistic manner, often implying a lack of restraint or manners.

Variants and Related Words

• Há ngoác (v): A near-synonymous phrase also meaning to gape or open the mouth wide, sometimes with an even stronger negative connotation.

Synonyms

• To gape: To stare with one's mouth open in surprise or wonder.
• To yawn: To open the mouth wide while taking a deep breath, often due to tiredness. (Note: "Ngoạc" is not specifically for tiredness; it is a broader, often crude, opening.)
• To open wide: A more general, neutral term.

Related Idioms

• Ngoạc mồm ngoạc miệng: An idiomatic expression describing the act of arguing loudly, angrily, or rudely with one's mouth wide open.
  • Hai người họ cứ ngoạc mồm ngoạc miệng cãi nhau suốt. (The two of them just kept shouting and arguing with their mouths agape.)