Definition

1. Adjective/Adverb (descriptive of manner):
   • Weak and breathy, in a faint or faltering way: Describes the very soft, feeble, and often indistinct sound of speech, typically due to a severe lack of strength, as from extreme old age, serious illness, or exhaustion. It implies the voice lacks power and clarity, fading in and out.
   • Sputtering weakly: Describes speaking with weak, intermittent breaths, as if the speaker is struggling to form words with their remaining energy.

Usage Examples

• Adjective/Adverb:
  • Giọng nói phều phào của bà cụ hầu như không nghe thấy. (The old woman's faint, breathy voice was almost inaudible.)
  • Người bệnh phều phào trăn trối vài câu rồi tắt thở. (The patient uttered weakly a few last words and then passed away.)
  • Cụ già phều phào mấy tiếng. (The old gentleman was sputtering weakly a few words.)

Advanced Usage

• The word "phều phào" is highly evocative and is almost exclusively used in literary or descriptive contexts to paint a vivid picture of extreme physical debility. It is not used for ordinary quiet speech.

Variants and Related Words

• Phều phạo: A variant spelling with the same meaning.
• Thều thào (adj/adv): A close synonym, also meaning to speak in a faint, weak, and drawn-out manner.

Synonyms

• Faintly
• Feebly
• In a weak, breathy voice
• Falteringly

Related Idioms

• Thoi thóp thở / Thở phều phào: To breathe faintly or with great difficulty, gasping for breath.
  • Nạn nhân nằm thoi thóp thở sau vụ tai nạn. (The victim lay breathing faintly after the accident.)

1. Sputter weakly
   • Cụ già phều phào mấy tiếng
     The old gentleman was sputtering weakly a few words