ngoáo
Definition
- Noun:
- A bogeyman; a monster: A fictional creature or monster invented to frighten children. It represents a generic, often formless, figure of fear used in threats or warnings.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Mẹ dọa: "Đi ngủ đi, không ngoáo đến bắt đấy!" (Mom threatened: "Go to sleep, or the bogeyman will come get you!")
- Trẻ con trong làng sợ nhất là con ngoáo ộp. (The children in the village are most afraid of the bogeyman.)
Advanced Usage
- The word is almost exclusively used in the context of frightening children. Its power lies in its vagueness, as it does not refer to a specific creature from folklore but to an abstract concept of a punishing monster.
Variants and Related Words
- Ngoáo ộp (n): This is the more complete and common form. "Ngoáo" is often used as a shortened version of "ngoáo ộp."
- Đừng khóc, ngoáo ộp nghe thấy đấy. (Don't cry, the bogeyman will hear you.)
Synonyms
- Bogeyman: A mythical creature used to frighten children.
- Monster: An imaginary frightening creature.
- Bugbear: A source of fear or anxiety, often an object of needless dread.
Related Idioms
- Dọa như ngoáo ộp: To scare someone as if with a bogeyman; to frighten someone severely with empty threats.
- Ông ấy quát dọa bọn trẻ như ngoáo ộp. (He yelled and scared the children like a bogeyman.)