Definition

1. Adjective (Reduplicative form):
   • Watery and blurred; smudged and runny: Describes something, typically writing, ink, makeup, or a wet surface, that has become indistinct, messy, and spread out due to moisture, causing a blurred or smeared appearance.
   • Tear-streaked: Describes a face marked with runny, smeared tears, often making the appearance messy and blurred.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Chữ viết mực bị nhòe nhoe nhóe vì nước mưa. (The ink writing became all smudged and runny because of the rain.)
  • Mặt cô bé nhoe nhóe nước mắt và son môi. (The little girl's face was streaked with tears and smeared lipstick.)
  • Bức tranh màu nước trông nhoe nhóe sau khi bị ướt. (The watercolor painting looked blurred and runny after getting wet.)

Advanced Usage

• This is a reduplicative form (láy) of the root word "nhòe" (to blur, to smudge). The reduplication intensifies the meaning, emphasizing a state of being very blurred, messy, and wetly indistinct.
• It often carries a negative connotation of untidiness or ruin, as in makeup being ruined by tears or important writing being rendered illegible.

Variants and Related Words

• Nhòe (v/adj): to blur, to smudge; blurred.
  • Tấm ảnh cũ đã bị nhòe. (The old photo has become blurred.)
• Lòe nhòe (adj): another reduplicative form with a similar meaning of being blurry and indistinct, often for lights or vision.
  • Ánh đèn lòe nhòe trong sương mù. (The lights were hazy and blurry in the fog.)

Synonyms

• Smudged: marked with blurred streaks or smears.
• Blurred: unclear and indistinct.
• Streaked: marked with lines or streaks, especially of tears or running color.
• Runny: (of a substance) fluid and spreading uncontrollably.

Related Idioms

• Khóc nhoe nhóe: to cry one's eyes out, to weep messily and copiously.
  • Đứa trẻ khóc nhoe nhóe vì bị ngã. (The child was crying its eyes out because it fell.)

1. xem nhóe (láy)