Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Extremely thin, gaunt, or emaciated: Describes a person or animal that is excessively lean, with bones prominently visible, often due to illness or malnutrition. It implies a more severe state than simply "thin" (gầy).
   • Like a lath, skeletal: A figurative comparison to a thin, narrow strip of wood (lath) or a skeleton, emphasizing a lack of flesh and a frail appearance.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Đứa trẻ đó trông gầy nhom vì thiếu ăn. (That child looks gaunt due to lack of food.)
  • Sau trận ốm, ông ấy ốm nhom đi. (After the illness, he became skeletal.)
  • Con chó bị bỏ rơi trông thật nhom. (The abandoned dog looks terribly emaciated.)

Advanced Usage

• "nhom nhem": An intensified or reduplicative form emphasizing extreme thinness or a state of being worn down.
  • Làm việc cực nhọc cả tháng, anh ta nhom nhem hẳn đi. (Working hard for a whole month, he became utterly gaunt.)

Variants and Related Words

• Gầy nhom (adj): Very skinny, all skin and bones. This is the most common collocation.

  • Cô ấy gầy nhom nhưng rất khỏe mạnh. (She is very skinny but very healthy.)

• Ốm nhom (adj, regional): Sickly thin, emaciated from illness.

  • Bệnh tật khiến bà cụ ốm nhom. (Sickness made the old woman emaciated.)

Synonyms

• Gaunt: Lean and haggard, often from suffering.
• Emaciated: Abnormally thin or weak, especially from illness or lack of food.
• Skeletal: Resembling a skeleton; extremely thin.
• Skinny: Very thin, but less severe than "nhom."

Related Idioms

• Gầy như cái que: As thin as a stick (similar imagery to "nhom").

  • Ăn uống thất thường nên nó gầy như cái que. (Due to irregular eating, he is as thin as a stick.)

• Chỉ còn da bọc xương: Nothing but skin and bones.

  • Con vật bị bỏ đói chỉ còn da bọc xương. (The starved animal is nothing but skin and bones.)

1. Like a lath, like a water
   • gầy nhom ; (địa phương) ốm nhom
     Thin as in lath