Definition

1. Adjective / Verb (used with 'to be' or as a stative verb):
   • To be passionate about; to be engrossed in: To have an intense and compelling enthusiasm or love for something, often to the point of being absorbed or captivated by it.
   • To be infatuated with; to be enamored of: To be filled with a foolish or unreasoning passion, often in a romantic or obsessive context.

Usage Examples

• Adjective / Verb:
  • Cô ấy say mê âm nhạc. (She is passionate about music.)
  • Anh ấy đang say mê đọc cuốn tiểu thuyết mới. (He is engrossed in reading the new novel.)
  • Chàng trai say mê cô gái ấy ngay từ cái nhìn đầu tiên. (The young man was infatuated with that girl from the first glance.)

Advanced Usage

• "Say mê một cách mù quáng": to be blindly passionate; to be fanatical.
  • Anh ta say mê một cách mù quáng với lý tưởng của mình. (He is fanatically passionate about his ideology.)

Variants and Related Words

• Say đắm (adj/v): to be deeply enamored; to be entranced. Often carries a stronger, more poetic connotation of being lost in passion.

  • Vẻ đẹp của cô ấy khiến anh say đắm. (Her beauty entranced him.)

• Mê say (adj/v): an inverted form with the same core meaning as "say mê," emphasizing the state of being captivated.

  • Giọng hát của cô ấy thật mê say. (Her singing voice is truly captivating.)

Synonyms

• Passionate: having, showing, or caused by strong feelings or beliefs.
• Enthralled: captured and held the complete attention of.
• Infatuated: possessed with an intense but short-lived passion or admiration for.

Related Idioms

• Say mê như điếu đổ: to be passionately addicted (literally: to be engrossed as if pouring [something into a pipe]). This idiom describes a state of deep, almost uncontrollable absorption.

  • Cậu ấy chơi game say mê như điếu đổ. (He plays video games with an addictive passion.)

• Say mê nghiên cứu: to be passionately devoted to research.

  • Giáo sư ấy say mê nghiên cứu suốt đời. (That professor was passionately devoted to research his whole life.)

1. to have a passion for