thở hồng hộc
Definition
- Verb phrase:
- To pant heavily; to gasp for breath: Describes the act of breathing with great difficulty, rapidly, and noisily, typically after extreme physical exertion, intense fear, or severe illness. It emphasizes a state of respiratory distress.
Usage Examples
- Verb phrase:
- Sau khi leo lên đỉnh núi, anh ấy ngồi xuống thở hồng hộc. (After climbing to the mountain peak, he sat down panting heavily.)
- Đứa bé sốt cao và thở hồng hộc, khiến bố mẹ rất lo lắng. (The child had a high fever and was gasping for breath, making the parents very worried.)
- Con chó chạy đuổi theo mèo, rồi nằm dài ra thở hồng hộc. (The dog ran after the cat, then lay down flat, panting heavily.)
Advanced Usage
- The phrase "thở hồng hộc" is inherently vivid and descriptive. It is often used in literary or narrative contexts to paint a clear picture of a character's exhausted or panicked state. It is less common in formal, technical, or medical descriptions of breathing.
Variants and Related Words
- Thở dốc (verb phrase): to be out of breath, to pant (often from exercise).
- Tôi chạy một đoạn ngắn đã thở dốc. (I ran a short distance and was already out of breath.)
- Thở gấp (verb phrase): to breathe rapidly, to have short, quick breaths.
- Bệnh nhân thở gấp sau cơn đau. (The patient breathed rapidly after the pain.)
- Hụt hơi (verb/adjective): to be breathless, to be short of breath.
- Cô ấy nói hụt hơi vì xúc động. (She spoke breathlessly due to emotion.)
Synonyms
- To pant: To breathe quickly and with short breaths.
- To gasp: To take a short, sudden breath, especially from surprise, pain, or lack of air.
- To wheeze: To breathe with a whistling or rattling sound in the chest (often due to obstruction or illness).
Related Idioms
- While "thở hồng hộc" itself is not typically part of a larger fixed idiom, it is a strong descriptive phrase that can be used within idiomatic expressions about exhaustion or panic, such as:
- Chạy thở hồng hộc: to run until one is gasping for breath.
- Sợ thở hồng hộc: to be so frightened that one pants heavily.