thỉu
Definition
- Adjective:
- Slightly spoiled or rancid: Used primarily to describe food, especially cooked rice or dishes, that has begun to turn bad, developing a sour smell and taste due to fermentation or bacterial growth.
- Listless, lethargic, or in a state of dull exhaustion: Describes a person's physical or mental state as being extremely tired, sluggish, or prostrated to the point of near collapse.
Usage Examples
- Adjective (spoiled food):
- Cơm để qua đêm đã bắt đầu thỉu. (The rice left overnight has started to turn sour/spoiled.)
- Adjective (state of exhaustion):
- Làm việc cả ngày, tôi thấy người thỉu ra. (Working all day, I feel completely prostrated/listless.)
- Đứa bé sốt cao, nằm thỉu trên giường. (The child had a high fever and lay lethargically on the bed.)
Advanced Usage
- The word "thỉu" is considered dialectal or colloquial, more common in Northern Vietnamese speech. In formal writing, "thiu" is often the preferred standard form for both meanings.
- It frequently appears in the reduplicated form "buồn thỉu" or "buồn thiu", which intensifies the feeling of sadness to mean profoundly, deeply, or visibly sad.
Variants and Related Words
- Thiu (adj): The more standard spelling for "slightly spoiled" and "listless."
- Buồn thỉu / Buồn thiu (adj phrase): Deeply sad, melancholic.
- Khuôn mặt nó buồn thỉu khi nghe tin. (His/her face looked profoundly sad upon hearing the news.)
- Mệt thỉu / Mệt thiu (adj phrase): Extremely exhausted, dead tired.
Synonyms
- Spoiled/Rancid: Sour, turned, gone off.
- Listless: Lethargic, prostrated, sluggish, enervated.
Related Idioms
- Buồn thỉu buồn thiu: A repeated phrase emphasizing a deep, lingering, and palpable state of sadness or gloom.
- Cả căn phòng trống vắng, buồn thỉu buồn thiu. (The whole room was empty and deeply, palpably sad.)