Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Completely soft / mushy / falling apart: Describes food, especially fruit or cooked meat, that has become extremely soft, often overly ripe or cooked to the point of disintegration.
   • Exhausted / worn out / dead tired: Describes a person or animal that is completely fatigued or depleted of energy.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Trái xoài này chín rục rồi. (This mango is completely overripe.)
  • Thịt kho phải ninh cho rục xương mới ngon. (Braised pork must be stewed until the bones are soft and falling apart to be delicious.)
  • Làm việc cả ngày, tôi mệt rục rồi. (Working all day, I am completely exhausted.)

Advanced Usage

• The word "rục" is often used in an intensified form "rục rịch", which means to make slight, rustling movements or to begin to stir into activity.
  • Có tiếng động rục rịch trong bụi cây. (There was a rustling sound in the bushes.)
  • Dự án mới bắt đầu rục rịch trở lại. (The project is just beginning to stir back to life.)

Variants and Related Words

• Nhừ (adj): Soft, tender (from cooking). Less extreme than "rục".
  • Thịt bò hầm nhừ. (Beef stewed until tender.)
• Nát (adj): Mashed, crushed, pulverized. Can describe a similar state of disintegration.
  • Trái cây bị dập nát. (The fruit was crushed.)
• Kiệt sức (adj/phrase): Exhausted, depleted of strength. A more formal synonym for the "tired" meaning.
  • Người lính kiệt sức. (The exhausted soldier.)

Synonyms

• Mushy: Soft and pulpy.
• Overripe: Too ripe and starting to decay.
• Exhausted: Drained of energy.

Related Idioms

• Chết rục: To be dead tired; literally "to die exhausted".
  • Đi bộ đường dài xong, tôi chỉ muốn chết rục. (After the long hike, I just wanted to drop dead from exhaustion.)

adj

1. rotten
   • trái chín rục
     sleepy fruit