Definition

1. Adjective (Tính từ):
   • Sharp, stinging, throbbing (of pain): Describes a sudden, sharp, and often recurring pain, typically of a small, localized area. It is a reduplicative form (từ láy) of "nhói," intensifying the sensation of a piercing or pricking ache.
   • Prickling, tingling: Can describe a similar sharp, needle-like sensation that is not necessarily painful, such as a tingling feeling.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Sau khi ngã, tôi cảm thấy đau nhoi nhói ở đầu gối. (After falling, I felt a sharp, throbbing pain in my knee.)
  • Vết thương đã lành nhưng thỉnh thoảng vẫn nhoi nhói. (The wound has healed but occasionally still stings.)
  • Cảm giác nhoi nhói ở đầu ngón tay khi máu lưu thông trở lại. (A prickling/tingling sensation in the fingertip as blood circulation returns.)

Advanced Usage

• Used figuratively to describe emotional pain: Can describe a sudden, sharp feeling of emotional hurt or poignancy.
  • Nghe tin đó, lòng tôi nhoi nhói. (Hearing that news, my heart ached sharply.)

Variants and Related Words

• Nhói (verb/adjective): The root word meaning "to sting," "to prick," or "to have a sharp pain." "Nhoi nhói" is its reduplicative form.
  • Một cơn đau nhói ở ngực. (A stabbing pain in the chest.)
• Nhức nhối (adjective): A similar reduplicative word, often describing a more persistent, dull, and aching pain.
  • Đau đầu nhức nhối. (A throbbing headache.)

Synonyms

• Đau nhói (adj/phrase): stabbing pain.
• Tê buốt (adj): numb and piercing (often from cold).
• Châm chích (adj): pricking, tingling.

Related Idioms/Phrases

• (Cảm giác) nhoi nhói trong lòng: A sharp/twinge of feeling in one's heart (often sadness, regret, or pity).
  • Nhìn cảnh tượng ấy, tôi thấy nhoi nhói trong lòng. (Looking at that scene, I felt a pang in my heart.)

1. xem nhói (láy)