Definition

Verb: - To tremble with fear, to shake from fright: "run sợ" describes the physical reaction of trembling or shaking due to intense fear or terror.

Usage

"Run sợ" is used to express a state of being so frightened that one's body physically shakes. It emphasizes the visible, involuntary physical manifestation of fear. - It is typically used to describe a person's reaction to a sudden, immediate, or overwhelming threat or scary situation. - The word order is fixed: "run sợ". It is not common to separate the two components.

Examples

• (Hearing a strange noise at night, she trembled with fear.)
• (The child shook with fright upon seeing the big dog.)
• (He did not tremble with fear in the face of the threats.)

Advanced Usage

• "Run sợ hãi": This is a more emphatic variant, where "hãi" intensifies the meaning of fear. It means "to tremble in terror".
  • Cảnh tượng kinh hoàng khiến mọi người run sợ hãi. (The horrifying scene made everyone tremble in terror.)

Variants and Related Words

• Run (verb): to shake, to tremble (can be due to cold, fear, or other reasons).
  • run rẩy: to tremble, to shiver (often from cold or weakness).
  • run lên: to tremble (with a sense of the trembling rising or increasing).
• Sợ (verb): to fear, to be afraid.
  • khiếp sợ: to be terrified.
  • hoảng sợ: to panic, to be frightened suddenly.

Synonyms

• Khiếp đảm (verb): to be terrified, to be horrified (implies a deeper, more paralyzing fear).
• Rùng mình (verb): to shudder (often from fear, cold, or disgust).

Related Idioms/Phrases

• Run như cầy sấy: To tremble/shake violently (like a "cầy sấy" - a type of small carnivore; idiom for intense trembling).
  • Sợ đến mức run như cầy sấy. (To be so scared that one shakes violently.)
• Mặt xanh như tàu lá, run như thần: Face as green as a banana leaf, trembling like a spirit (idiom describing someone pale and shaking with extreme fear).

verb

1. to shake with fright