Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Heavy, weighing a lot: Used to describe an object, person, or animal that has significant weight. It directly refers to the physical property of heaviness.
   • Substantial, considerable: Can be used figuratively to describe something non-physical that has great importance, seriousness, or impact.

Usage Examples

• Adjective (Literal):

  • Chiếc vali này rất nặng cân. (This suitcase is very heavy.)
  • Con trâu nặng cân hơn con bò. (The buffalo weighs more than the cow.)

• Adjective (Figurative):

  • Lời khuyên của anh ấy rất nặng cân trong quyết định của tôi. (His advice carried a lot of weight in my decision.)
  • Đó là một bằng chứng nặng cân chống lại bị cáo. (That is a substantial piece of evidence against the defendant.)

Advanced Usage

• "cân nặng": This is a related noun phrase meaning "weight." While "nặng cân" is an adjective, "cân nặng" is the noun form.

  • Cân nặng của tôi là 70 kg. (My weight is 70 kg.)

• Impersonal Construction: Often used in sentences where the subject is the thing being weighed.

  • Gói hàng nặng cân quá. (The package is too heavy.)

Variants and Related Words

• Nặng (adj): Heavy. A more general term for heaviness, which can refer to weight or figurative seriousness (e.g., - heavy responsibility).
• Cân (v): To weigh. (e.g., - I need to weigh these oranges.)
• Cân nặng (n): Weight. (as mentioned above)
• Nhẹ cân (adj): Lightweight, weighing little. The direct antonym.

Synonyms

• Nặng trĩu: Heavily laden, weighed down (often with a more poetic or emotional connotation).
• Có trọng lượng lớn: To have great weight (more formal/literal).
• Quan trọng: Important (for the figurative sense).

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

Note: As "nặng cân" is an adjective, it does not have phrasal verbs. However, here are common verb phrases related to weighing. - Cân lên: To weigh something (to find out its weight). - Hãy cân con chó lên xem. (Let's weigh the dog to see.) - Cân nhắc: To consider, to deliberate (figurative use of "cân" - to weigh). - Tôi cần cân nhắc kỹ lưỡng. (I need to consider carefully.)

Related Idioms

• Nặng như đá đeo: As heavy as a stone tied to you; meaning a very heavy burden (physical or mental).
  • Gánh nợ này nặng như đá đeo. (This debt is a millstone around my neck.)
• Nhẹ tựa lông hồng, nặng tựa nghìn cân: (Light as a feather, heavy as a thousand weights); used to contrast trivial and extremely serious matters.

1. Weigh heavy