Definition

1. Adjective:
   • To feel out of sorts, to feel under the weather: "se mình" describes a state of general physical discomfort or malaise, often the initial, non-specific feeling of being unwell, such as before a fever or illness fully manifests.
   • To feel indisposed: It indicates a slight, vague feeling of being unwell, not necessarily linked to a specific, severe symptom.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Sáng nay tôi thấy se mình, có lẽ sắp bị cảm. (This morning I feel out of sorts, maybe I'm about to catch a cold.)
  • Chị ấy nói là chị ấy se mình nên không đi làm được. (She said she feels under the weather so she can't go to work.)
  • Trời trở lạnh khiến nhiều người thấy se mình. (The cold weather makes many people feel indisposed.)

Advanced Usage

• "Cảm thấy se se mình": This is a common, slightly emphatic variant using reduplication ("se se") to describe the sensation more vividly.
  • Tôi cảm thấy se se mình, chắc phải uống trà gừng thôi. (I feel a bit under the weather, I should drink some ginger tea.)

Variants and Related Words

• Khó ở (adj): This is a very close synonym, also meaning to feel unwell or out of sorts.
  • Nó bảo nó khó ở nên về nhà sớm. (He said he felt unwell so he went home early.)
• Mệt mỏi (adj): Means tired or fatigued. While it can overlap, "mệt mỏi" is more about fatigue, whereas "se mình" is about a general feeling of being unwell.
• Ốm (adj): Means sick or ill. "Ốm" generally indicates a more definite state of sickness than the preliminary, vague feeling of "se mình".

Synonyms

• Feel off-color: To feel slightly unwell.
• Feel poorly: To feel somewhat ill (informal).
• Feel unwell: A general term for not feeling healthy.

Related Idioms

• "Se mình sốt mẩy": This idiom describes the progression from the initial vague feeling ("se mình") to developing a clear fever or rash ("sốt mẩy"). It means to fall ill, starting with general discomfort.
  • Hôm qua nó mới se mình, hôm nay đã sốt mẩy rồi. (Yesterday he just felt under the weather, today he's already running a fever.)

1. Feel out of sorts, feel under the weather