sưng sỉa
Definition
- Adjective:
- Sullen; sulky; scowling: Describes a facial expression that is visibly displeased, frowning, or showing obvious annoyance and resentment, often characterized by a heavy, darkened, or pouting look.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Nghe xong câu đó, mặt anh ta trở nên sưng sỉa. (After hearing that, his face became sullen.)
- Đừng có mặt sưng sỉa với mẹ như thế! (Don't give your mother such a scowling face!)
- Nó ngồi im với vẻ mặt sưng sỉa cả buổi. (He sat quietly with a sulky expression all afternoon.)
Advanced Usage
- The term is almost exclusively used to describe a person's facial expression or demeanor that non-verbally communicates anger, displeasure, or a refusal to cooperate due to being offended or not getting one's way. It implies a childish or petulant quality to the anger.
Variants and Related Words
- Sưng sượng (adj): Often used interchangeably in some dialects to describe a similar sulky, offended facial expression.
- Cáu kỉnh (adj): irritable, grumpy (describes the mood more than the specific facial expression).
- Hầm hầm (adj): glowering, seething with anger.
Synonyms
- Sulky: Bad-tempered and resentful.
- Sullen: Showing irritation or ill humor by a gloomy silence or air.
- Scowling: Having an angry or bad-tempered expression.
- Pouting: Showing displeasure by thrusting out the lips.
Related Idioms
- Mặt sưng mày sỉa: A common idiom that intensifies the meaning, describing an extremely sullen, scowling, and resentful facial expression.
- Cô ấy bước vào với bộ mặt sưng mày sỉa. (She walked in with a deeply scowling and resentful face.)