Definition

1. Verb:

   • To faint, to swoon, to lose consciousness: Refers to the state of suddenly falling down and becoming unconscious, often due to a lack of blood supply to the brain, shock, or extreme weakness.
   • To be extremely high or towering: Describes something, typically a mountain or a structure, that is exceptionally tall, reaching a dizzying height.

2. Adjective (used as an adverb of degree):

   • Extremely, very: Used colloquially to intensify an adjective, indicating a very high degree, often related to being fancy, luxurious, or expensive.

Usage Examples

• Verb (to faint):

  • Cô ấy bị ngất khi nghe tin dữ. (She fainted upon hearing the bad news.)
  • Vì đói và mệt, anh ta đã ngất đi tại chỗ. (Due to hunger and exhaustion, he fainted on the spot.)

• Verb (to be extremely high):

  • Ngọn núi cao ngất, mây phủ quanh năm. (The mountain is dizzyingly high, shrouded in clouds year-round.)
  • Tòa nhà chọc trời sừng sững, cao ngất. (The skyscraper stands tall, reaching a vertiginous height.)

• Adjective (extremely):

  • Cô ấy diện ngất trong bộ váy dạ hội mới. (She is decked out in her new evening gown.)
  • Chiếc xe mới của anh ấy sang ngất. (His new car is extremely luxurious.)

Advanced Usage

• "ngất xỉu": A common compound verb meaning "to faint" or "to pass out," emphasizing the act of collapsing.

  • Nghe tiếng nổ lớn, bà cụ sợ quá ngất xỉu. (Hearing the loud explosion, the old lady was so scared she passed out.)

• "ngất ngây": An idiomatic expression meaning "to be ecstatic, enraptured, or intoxicated" (with joy, emotion, fragrance).

  • Hương hoa nhài thoang thoảng khiến lòng người ngất ngây. (The faint scent of jasmine is utterly intoxicating.)

Variants and Related Words

• Ngất xỉu (v): To faint, to pass out. (A more specific and common term for fainting).
• Ngất ngưởng (adj): Carefree, nonchalant, living without regard for convention. (A different, idiomatic usage).
• Ngất ngây (adj/idiom): Ecstatic, enraptured.

Synonyms

• Xỉu (v): To faint, to pass out. (More colloquial).
• Bất tỉnh (v): To be unconscious.
• Chóng mặt (adj): Dizzy, vertiginous. (For the "high" sense).
• Cực kỳ, vô cùng (adv): Extremely, very. (For the intensifier sense).

Related Phrases (Collocations)

• Lên cơn ngất: To have a fainting spell.
  • Bệnh nhân lên cơn ngất đột ngột. (The patient had a sudden fainting spell.)
• Cao ngất trời: Impossibly high, sky-high.
  • Giá nhà đất ở đây cao ngất trời. (Real estate prices here are sky-high.)

Related Idioms

• "Ngất đi ngất lại": To faint repeatedly; to be in a state of intermittent consciousness.
  • Sau tai nạn, nạn nhân ngất đi ngất lại. (After the accident, the victim kept fading in and out of consciousness.)
• "Ngất ngư" (less common): To be unsteady, to stagger (as if about to faint).
  • Say rượu, anh ta bước đi ngất ngư. (Drunk, he walked with an unsteady stagger.)

1. Faint, swoon, become onconscious
   • Mệt quá ngất đi
     To faint from exhaustion
2. Dizzy
   • Núi kia cao ngất
     That mountain is dizzy high
3. Very expensive
   • Diện ngất
     To be decked out in very expensive clothes