Definition

1. Verb:

   • To ache; to throb; to have a dull, persistent pain: "nhức" describes a sensation of pain that is often internal, dull, and continuous, typically associated with headaches, toothaches, or muscle soreness. It implies a deeper, more nagging discomfort than the more general word "đau" (to hurt).
   • To smart; to have a sharp, pricking pain: In some contexts, it can describe a sharper, more localized pain, as if being pricked by something pointed.

2. Adjective (Literary/Descriptive):

   • Jet-black; intensely and lustrously black: Used descriptively, especially in older or poetic language, to describe something (like teeth or hair) as being a deep, shiny black.

Usage Examples

• Verb:

  • Tôi nhức đầu. (My head aches. / I have a headache.)
  • Răng tôi nhức quá. (My tooth aches so much.)
  • Sau khi tập thể dục, các cơ nhức mỏi. (After exercising, my muscles are sore and aching.)

• Adjective:

  • Mái tóc đen nhức. (Jet-black hair.)
  • Hàm răng đen nhức. (Teeth of a lustrous black.)

Advanced Usage

• "nhức nhối": This reduplicative form intensifies the aching sensation, often implying a throbbing or nagging pain that is hard to ignore.
  • Vết thương nhức nhối. (The wound is throbbing with pain.)
• "nhức óc" / "nhức đầu": Literally "brain-aching" or "head-aching," commonly used to mean a headache, or figuratively to describe something very annoying or mentally taxing.
  • Bài toán này nhức đầu thật. (This math problem is a real headache [literally and figuratively].)
• "nhức răng": Toothache.
  • Nhức răng là một cơn đau khó chịu. (A toothache is an unpleasant pain.)

Variants and Related Words

• Nhức nhối (verb/adjective): To throb with pain; a nagging, persistent ache.
• Nhức đầu (noun/verb phrase): Headache; to have a headache.
• Nhức răng (noun/verb phrase): Toothache; to have a toothache.
• Nhức mỏi (adjective): Aching and tired (often for muscles).
• Đau (verb): The general word for "to hurt" or "to be in pain." "Nhức" is often a specific type of "đau."

Synonyms

• Đau: To hurt, to be in pain (more general).
• Buốt: To have a sharp, piercing pain (e.g., from cold or a needle).
• Mỏi: To be tired, weary (often combined with "nhức" as "nhức mỏi").

Related Phrases (Collocations)

• Bị nhức: To suffer from an ache.
  • Tôi bị nhức vai. (I have a shoulder ache.)
• Cảm thấy nhức: To feel an ache.
  • Anh ấy cảm thấy nhức ở chân. (He feels an ache in his leg.)

Notes on Usage

• As a verb, "nhức" is very common in everyday language to describe physical discomfort, especially related to the head, teeth, and muscles.
• The adjectival use describing color ("đen nhức") is less common in modern spoken Vietnamese and is primarily found in literature or descriptive writing.
• It is often used with specific body parts to form common phrases like "nhức đầu," "nhức răng," "nhức mắt" (eye strain/ache).

verb

1. to ache; smarting
   • tôi nhức đầu
     My head aches
   • nhức đầu headache