Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Buxom, plump and rosy-cheeked: Describes a person, typically a woman, who is pleasingly plump, full-figured, and has a fresh, healthy, and cheerful appearance. It carries a connotation of robust health and attractiveness.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Cô ấy trông thật phây phây sau kỳ nghỉ. (She looks wonderfully buxom/plump and rosy after the holiday.)
  • Một bà mẹ trẻ phây phây bế đứa con trên tay. (A plump and rosy-cheeked young mother is holding her child in her arms.)

Advanced Usage

• The word phây phây is almost exclusively used to describe people, emphasizing a state of healthy plumpness combined with a fresh, vibrant complexion. It is a positive and affectionate term, not a clinical description of obesity.
• It is often used in a complimentary way to describe someone who looks well-fed, happy, and healthy.

Variants and Related Words

• Phây (adj): A shorter, less common form with the same meaning as phây phây. Often found in older dictionaries or poetic usage.
  • Béo phây (Plump and rosy)
• Béo tốt (adj): Plump and healthy. A more general synonym.
• Mập mạp (adj): Plump, chubby. Can be neutral or slightly less vivid than phây phây.
• Hồng hào (adj): Rosy-cheeked, ruddy. Focuses on the healthy complexion aspect.

Synonyms

• Béo bở: Plump and appetizing (often used for food, but can be metaphorically applied to people).
• Tròn trĩnh: Rounded, plump (can describe objects or people).
• Đầy đặn: Full-figured, well-rounded.

Related Idioms

• Béo phây phây: A very common collocation that intensifies the meaning of "plump" with the cheerful healthiness of phây phây.
  • Đứa bé được chăm sóc kỹ nên béo phây phây. (The child is well cared for, so it's plump and rosy-cheeked.)

1. Buxom (nói về đàn bà)