Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Sticky, slimy, viscous: Describes a substance that is thick, wet, and adheres to surfaces, often in an unpleasant way. It implies a consistency similar to mucus, glue, or certain bodily fluids.
   • Snotty, mucus-like: Specifically refers to something resembling or covered in nasal mucus or similar viscous secretions.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Sau khi ăn kẹo dẻo, tay tôi cảm thấy rất nhầy. (After eating the gummy candy, my hands felt very sticky.)
  • Chất lỏng màu trắng đó trông rất nhầy. (That white liquid looks very slimy.)
  • Đứa bé bị cảm, khăn tay nhầy mũi. (The child has a cold, the handkerchief is snotty.)

Advanced Usage

• "nhầy nhầy" (reduplicative form): Emphasizes the sticky, slimy quality, often with a connotation of being unpleasantly so, like being covered in mucus.
  • Tay nó nhầy nhầy vì vừa dọn cá. (His hands are all slimy because he just cleaned fish.)
  • Con ốc sên để lại một vệt nhầy nhầy trên lá. (The snail left a slimy trail on the leaf.)

Variants and Related Words

• Chất nhầy (Noun): Mucus; a slimy, viscous substance. Often refers to bodily mucus but can also refer to similar plant or synthetic substances.
  • Ho nhiều khiến cổ họng tiết ra nhiều chất nhầy. (Coughing a lot causes the throat to produce a lot of mucus.)
• Nhầy nhụa (Adjective): Very sticky and greasy/oily. This variant adds a sense of being greasy or grimy in addition to being sticky.
  • Động cơ nhầy nhụa dầu mỡ. (The engine is greasy and grimy with oil.)

Synonyms

• Dính: Sticky, adhesive. Focuses more on the adhesive property rather than the wet, viscous quality.
• Nhớt: Slimy, viscous, slippery. Very close in meaning, often interchangeable with nhầy, but can sometimes imply a more lubricated, slippery feel.
• Lầy nhầy: Sticky and muddy or messy. Suggests a stickiness combined with dirt or mud.

Notes on Different Meanings

The core meaning of nhầy consistently relates to a wet, cohesive, and often unpleasant stickiness. It is primarily used for physical textures and is not typically used in abstract or metaphorical senses. The reduplicative form nhầy nhầy intensifies the description and is very common in spoken Vietnamese.

1. Sticky, slimy
   • Nhầy tay
     To have sticky hands
   • Chất nhầy
     A slimy (mocous) substance
   • nhầy nhầy (láy)
     Snotty
   • Tay nhầy nhầy những mũi
     To have one's hands snotty with mucus