Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Lanky, ungracefully lanky: Describes a person who is tall and thin in a way that appears awkward, clumsy, or lacking in grace. It emphasizes an ungainly, disproportionate, or spindly physical build.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Anh ta cao ngòng như một cây sào. (He is lanky like a pole.)
  • Dáng người cô ấy hơi ngòng. (Her figure is somewhat lanky.)
  • Đứa trẻ mới lớn nên trông cao ngòng. (The teenager is growing fast so he looks lanky.)

Advanced Usage

• "Cao ngòng": This is the most common and fixed collocation. It is an adjective phrase used to describe someone as "tall and lanky" or "ungracefully tall."
  • Sau một năm, nó cao ngòng hẳn lên. (After a year, he has become quite lanky.)

Variants and Related Words

• Ngồng: An alternate, less common spelling of "ngòng," used with the same meaning, primarily in the phrase "cao ngồng."
• Cao nghều: A near-synonym meaning "very tall and lanky," often with a similar connotation of awkwardness.
• Cao lêu nghêu: Another synonym describing someone as "tall and gawky."

Synonyms

• Lanky: Cao và gầy một cách vụng về.
• Gangling: Cao, gầy và vụng về, khó khăn trong cử động.
• Spindly: Mảnh khảnh, yếu ớt, và dài ngoẵng (thường dùng cho chân tay).

Notes on Usage

• The word "ngòng" is almost exclusively used in the descriptive phrase "cao ngòng." It is rarely used alone.
• It carries a slightly informal or descriptive tone and is not typically used in very formal writing.
• The term often describes teenagers during growth spurts or individuals whose height seems disproportionate to their frame.

1. Lanky, ungracefully lanky
   • Người cao ngòng
     To be ungracefully lanky