Definition

1. Noun:

   • Small intestine (of a pig or cow): "phèo" refers specifically to the small intestine of slaughtered pigs or cows, often used in cooking.

2. Adjective:

   • Oozing out, foaming out: Describes a liquid, especially a frothy one like saliva or foam, seeping or flowing out.
   • Extremely (dull, bland, insipid): Used as an intensifier following adjectives like "nhạt" (bland) or "chán" (boring) to mean "extremely" or "terribly."

3. Adverb:

   • Fleetingly, quickly, in an instant: Describes an action that happens very quickly and is over just as fast, like a brief flash or a short-lived event.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Món lòng phèo xào rất ngon. (Stir-fried small intestine is very delicious.)
• Adjective (Oozing):
  • Con chó bị ốm, phèo bọt mép. (The dog was sick, foaming at the mouth.)
• Adjective (Intensifier):
  • Bộ phim này chán phèo. (This movie is extremely boring.)
  • Canh hôm nay nhạt phèo. (The soup today is terribly bland.)
• Adverb:
  • Đống củi khô cháy phèo trong nháy mắt. (The pile of dry firewood burned out in a flash.)

Advanced Usage

• "phèo rồi" (vulgar/slang): To be ruined, to fall through, to be done for.
  • Dự án đó phèo rồi, không cứu được nữa. (That project is done for, it can't be saved anymore.)
• "xem lộn phèo": To misread or see something incorrectly (often due to carelessness).
  • Tôi xem lộn phèo số điện thoại. (I misread the phone number.)

Variants and Related Words

• Lòng phèo: A compound noun meaning animal intestines (often pork or beef) used as food.
• Phèo phèo: A reduplicative form sometimes used for emphasis, though less common.

Synonyms

• Noun (Intestine): (small intestine).
• Adjective (Oozing): (to gush out, to ooze out).
• Adjective (Intensifier): (extremely, utterly).
• Adverb (Quickly): (quickly, fleetingly).

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Phèo bọt mép: To foam at the mouth (literally: to ooze foam at the lips). Can describe rabies in animals or, figuratively, someone talking excessively or angrily.
  • Nó giận đến mức phèo bọt mép. (He was so angry he was foaming at the mouth [figuratively].)
• Nhạt phèo / Chán phèo: Extremely bland / Extremely boring. A fixed colloquial pattern where "phèo" intensifies the preceding adjective.
  • Buổi tiệc nhạt phèo, chẳng có gì vui. (The party was terribly dull, there was no fun at all.)

1. Pig's smal intestine
2. Give off, ooze out
   • Phèo bọt mép
     To give off saliva
3. Fleetingly, quickly over
   • Lửa rơm cháy phèo
     A straw fire burns out quickly
4. Extremely (dull, insipid)
   • Câu chuyện nhạt phèo
     The conversation was extremely dull
   • Canh nhạt phèo
     The soup was extremely insipid
   • xem lộn phèo