Definition

1. Verb:
   • To become stale and foul-smelling: Describes the process where food, especially cooked food or organic matter, spoils, decomposes, and develops a strong, unpleasant odor due to bacterial growth. It emphasizes the combined state of being stale and putrid.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Cơm để bên ngoài lâu ngày sẽ thiu thối. (Rice left outside for a long time will become stale and foul-smelling.)
  • Mùi thịt thiu thối bốc lên từ thùng rác. (The smell of meat that had gone stale and rotten rose from the trash can.)
  • Đừng ăn cá đó, nó đã thiu thối rồi. (Don't eat that fish; it has gone bad and smelly.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "thiu thối" is often used to describe a state of advanced spoilage where the smell is particularly offensive. It can be applied metaphorically in informal contexts to describe something morally corrupt or a situation that has turned very bad.
  • Bê bối chính trị đó giờ đã thiu thối, không ai ủng hộ nữa. (That political scandal has now turned rotten; no one supports it anymore.)

Variants and Related Words

• Thiu (adj/verb): Often used alone to mean spoiled, stale, or sour (e.g., milk, food). It can imply a sour smell.

  • Sữa đã bị thiu. (The milk has gone sour/bad.)

• Thối (adj/verb): Means rotten or putrid, often describing a stronger, more decayed state, like rotting fruit or flesh.

  • Trái cây đã thối rữa. (The fruit has rotted.)

Synonyms

• To spoil: To become unfit for consumption.
• To rot: To decompose and decay.
• To putrefy: To decay with a foul smell (more formal/scientific).

Related Idioms

• Thối tha: Putrid, stinking; often used for a very strong, disgusting smell and can be applied to abstract concepts like corrupt behavior.

  • Những lời nói thối tha. (Putrid/filthy words.)

• Ôi thiu: Sour and stale; specifically describes food that has turned sour and begun to spoil.

  • Thức ăn ôi thiu. (Sour, spoiled food.)

verb

1. to get stale and smell