Definition

1. Verb:
   • To crave strongly for, to desire intensely: "thèm khát" describes a powerful, urgent, and often emotional longing for something, typically because one feels a profound lack of it. It implies a deep-seated need that goes beyond a simple want.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Cô ấy thèm khát tình yêu và sự quan tâm. (She craves love and attention.)
  • Người tù chính trị thèm khát tự do. (The political prisoner intensely desires freedom.)
  • Anh ta thèm khát được công nhận trong sự nghiệp. (He strongly craves recognition in his career.)

Advanced Usage

• "thèm khát danh vọng": to crave honors/to be ambitious for fame.

  • Kẻ tham vọng ấy lúc nào cũng thèm khát danh vọng. (That ambitious person is always craving fame.)

• "sự thèm khát" (noun form): the craving, the intense desire.

  • Sự thèm khát quyền lực đã khiến họ tha hóa. (The craving for power corrupted them.)

Variants and Related Words

• Thèm (verb): to crave, to have a strong desire for (often, but not exclusively, for food/drink). It is a simpler, more general term than "thèm khát."

  • Tôi thèm một tách cà phê. (I crave a cup of coffee.)

• Khát (verb): to be thirsty. As a component of "thèm khát," it intensifies the meaning, adding a sense of urgency and dryness/lack.

  • Tôi khát nước. (I am thirsty for water.)

Synonyms

• Khao khát (verb): to yearn, to long for. Very close in meaning, often used interchangeably with "thèm khát," though "khao khát" can sound slightly more literary or poetic.
• Mong muốn thiết tha (phrase): to earnestly desire.
• Ham muốn (verb): to desire, to lust after. Can have a stronger connotation of greed or physical desire.

Related Phrases / Idioms

• Thèm khát đến cháy lòng: to crave/desire so much it burns inside. This idiom emphasizes the extreme, consuming nature of the desire.
  • Cô ấy thèm khát đến cháy lòng được gặp lại gia đình. (She burns with longing to see her family again.)

verb

1. to crave strongly for, to desire