ngoặt ngoẹo
Definition
- Adjective:
- Weak and floppy / limp: Describes something that is physically soft, weak, and lacks firmness or rigidity, often bending or drooping easily.
- Sickly and weak: Describes a person, especially a child, who is chronically frail, feeble, or in poor health.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Cây non này mới trồng nên còn ngoặt ngoẹo. (This newly planted sapling is still weak and floppy.)
- Nó bị ốm dài nên người ngoặt ngoẹo. (He has been sick for a long time, so his body is sickly and weak.)
- Sợi dây thừng cũ đã ngoặt ngoẹo, không dùng được nữa. (The old rope has become limp and is no longer usable.)
Advanced Usage
- The word "ngoặt ngoẹo" is often used to evoke a visual and physical sense of something that cannot support its own weight properly. It implies a lack of vitality, strength, or structural integrity.
Variants and Related Words
- Ngoằn ngoèo (adj): winding, zigzagging (describes a path or line). This is a different word but sometimes confused due to similar sound.
- Con đường lên núi ngoằn ngoèo. (The mountain road is winding.)
Synonyms
- Limp: lacking stiffness.
- Floppy: soft and hanging loosely.
- Frail: weak and delicate.
- Feeble: lacking physical strength.
Related Idioms
- While "ngoặt ngoẹo" itself is not typically part of a fixed idiom, its descriptive nature is used in phrases to emphasize extreme weakness or pliability.