ngầu

Thân thiện

Nước sông đục ngầu sau cơn mưa lớn.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Very muddy, extremely turbid: Describes water or liquid that is completely opaque and thick with suspended sediment.
   • Bloodshot, intensely red: Describes eyes that are completely or intensely red, typically due to illness, fatigue, or strong emotion.

Usage

• ngầu is used as an adjective following the noun it modifies (e.g., , ). It intensifies the quality described by the preceding adjective (đục - muddy, đỏ - red).
• It often conveys a negative or extreme state.

Examples

• Describing muddy water:
  • Nước ao đục ngầu sau trận mưa lớn. (The pond water was very muddy after the heavy rain.)
  • Con kênh đục ngầu phù sa. (The canal was thick and muddy with alluvium.)
• Describing bloodshot eyes:
  • Đêm thức trắng khiến mắt anh ấy đỏ ngầu. (Staying up all night made his eyes bloodshot.)
  • Cơn đau mắt làm mắt cô bé sưng đỏ ngầu. (The eye infection made the little girl's eyes swollen and bloodshot.)

Advanced Usage

• ngầu ngầu (reduplicated form): This form intensifies the meaning even further, emphasizing a higher degree of muddiness or redness.
  • Nước lũ cuồn cuộn, đục ngầu ngầu. (The floodwater surged, extremely muddy.)
  • Đôi mắt hắn đỏ ngầu ngầu vì tức giận. (His eyes were intensely bloodshot with anger.)

Variants and Related Words

• ngàu: An alternate, less common spelling with the same meaning.
• đục: (adj) muddy, turbid. ngầu intensifies this state.
• đỏ: (adj) red. ngầu intensifies this state to mean "bloodshot" or "intensely red".

Synonyms

• Đục ngòm: (adj) very muddy, murky. (Used for water/liquids).
• Đỏ kè: (adj) bloodshot. (Used for eyes).

Notes on Different Meanings

The word ngầu in modern Vietnamese slang has a completely different, positive meaning ("cool," "awesome"). This entry explains only the traditional, descriptive meaning related to physical states (muddiness, redness). The slang usage is a separate lexical item.

Học thuật

1. cũng như ngàu very muddy
   • Mưa xong nước sông đục ngầu
     Afterthe rain the river water was very muddy
2. Bloodshot
   • Mắt đau nặng đỏ ngầu
     To have bloodshot eyes bacause of a bad sore
   • Mắt đỏ ngầu vì giận
     To have bloodshot eyes bacause of anger
   • Ngầu ngầu (láy, ý tăng)