sặc máu
Definition
- Verb phrase:
- To choke on blood / to vomit blood: The primary medical meaning describes the violent expulsion of blood from the mouth or nose, often due to internal injury or severe illness.
- To work extremely hard / to toil painfully: A figurative meaning describing labor that is exhausting, grueling, and done to the point of extreme physical strain.
- To be extremely angry / to be furious: A figurative meaning describing a state of intense, choking rage.
Usage Examples
- Verb phrase:
- Người bệnh ho dữ dội rồi sặc máu. (The patient coughed violently and then vomited blood.)
- Họ phải làm sặc máu mới đủ tiền nuôi con. (They had to work themselves to the bone to earn enough money to raise their children.)
- Nó tức sặc máu khi bị phản bội. (He was absolutely furious when he was betrayed.)
Advanced Usage
- The phrase is often used hyperbolically in non-medical contexts to emphasize extreme effort or emotion, not a literal medical condition.
- It functions as a vivid intensifier, similar to English phrases like "to work one's fingers to the bone" or "to be boiling with rage."
Variants and Related Words
- Sặc tiết: A variant with the same meanings as 'sặc máu'.
- Hộc máu (v): To spew/vomit blood (often more purely literal than 'sặc máu').
Synonyms
- Vomit blood / hemorrhage: For the literal meaning.
- Toil / grind / slave away: For the meaning of hard work.
- Fume / seethe / be livid: For the meaning of anger.
Related Idioms
Làm sặc máu: An idiom meaning "to work oneself to death" or "to labor painfully hard."
- Công việc ấy khiến anh ấy làm sặc máu. (That job made him work himself to the bone.)
Tức sặc máu: An idiom meaning "to be boiling with anger" or "to be fit to be tied."
- Lời nói của hắn khiến tôi tức sặc máu. (His words made me see red.)