Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Swollen, distended, bulging: Describes something, typically a part of the body like the stomach, that has become enlarged, rounded, and taut, usually due to being filled with air, fluid, or food.
   • Puffed up, bloated: Can describe a general state of being inflated or expanded beyond the normal size.

Usage

• phềnh is primarily used as a descriptive adjective, often to depict a physical state of bloating or swelling.
• It is commonly used in informal or descriptive contexts, particularly related to health or physical appearance after eating.
• The reduplicated form phềnh phềnh is used for emphasis, intensifying the meaning to "very swollen" or "quite bulging."

Examples

• • (My) stomach is swollen from eating too much.
• • The soap bubble swelled/puffed up and then popped.
• • After drinking soda, his belly looked all bloated.

Advanced Usage

• phềnh can sometimes be used metaphorically in literature or speech to describe something that appears inflated or overly full, though this is less common.
  • Cái túi vải phềnh ra vì đựng quá nhiều đồ.

    • The cloth bag bulged because it held too many things.

Variants and Related Words

• phềnh phềnh (reduplicated adjective): An emphatic form meaning "very swollen," "quite distended."
  • Bụng ếch phềnh phềnh.

    • The frog's belly is all puffed up.
• phình (verb/adjective): A close synonym meaning "to swell" or "swollen." phềnh is often considered a phonetic variant of phình.
  • Bóng bay phình to.

    • The balloon swelled up.

Synonyms

• Trướng: Bloated, distended (often with gas).
• Căng: Taut, tight, stretched.
• Phồng: Inflated, puffed up (like a tire or balloon).

Notes

• phềnh is not typically used in formal medical terminology; words like chướng bụng (abdominal bloating) or sưng (swollen from injury/inflammation) are more precise in those contexts.
• The word strongly conveys a visual and physical sense of roundness and tightness due to internal pressure.

1. Swell
   • Bụng phềnh vì ăn no quá
     To have a belly swollen with too much food
   • phềnh phềnh (láy, ý tăng)