Definition

1. Verb:
   • To pant, to puff, to blow heavily: Describes the sound and action of breathing hard and noisily, often due to exhaustion, heat, or strenuous effort. It mimics the sound of heavy, labored breathing.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Sau khi chạy lên cầu thang, anh ấy phì phò thở. (After running up the stairs, he was panting heavily.)
  • Con chó nằm phì phò dưới bóng cây vì trời quá nóng. (The dog lay puffing under the tree because the weather was too hot.)
  • Đầu máy xe lửa cũ kêu phì phò khi khởi động. (The old train locomotive puffed and blew as it started up.)

Advanced Usage

• "phì phò như bễ lò rèn": to puff like a blacksmith's bellows; an idiom emphasizing very loud, forceful, and labored puffing.
  • Anh ta leo núi và thở phì phò như bễ lò rèn. (He climbed the mountain and puffed like a blacksmith's bellows.)

Variants and Related Words

• Phì phà (Verb): Often used for exhaling smoke (e.g., from a cigarette) slowly and contentedly. While similar in sound, "phì phà" typically implies a more controlled, leisurely exhalation, often related to smoking, whereas "phì phò" emphasizes labored breathing from exertion.
  • Ông cụ ngồi phì phà điếu thuốc. (The old man sat puffing on his cigarette.)

Synonyms

• Thở hổn hển: to gasp, to pant (specifically for breathlessness).
• Thở phì phì: to snort, to puff (can imply irritation or a similar heavy breathing sound).

Related Idioms

• "Làm việc phì phò": to work until one is puffing and panting; to work very hard and strenuously.
  • Cả ngày làm việc ngoài đồng, các bác nông dân về nhà trong tình trạng phì phò. (After working all day in the fields, the farmers came home panting and puffing.)

1. Pant, puff and blow