Definition

1. Verb:
   • To breathe, to respire: The fundamental biological process of inhaling air (oxygen) into the lungs and exhaling it (carbon dioxide), essential for life.
   • To utter, to voice (colloquial, often negative): To speak or express words, typically used for unpleasant, complaining, or rude statements.

Usage Examples

• Verb (to breathe):
  • Con người cần không khí để thở. (Humans need air to breathe.)
  • Anh ấy thở một hơi thật sâu để lấy lại bình tĩnh. (He took a very deep breath to calm down.)
  • Bệnh nhân vẫn còn thở. (The patient is still breathing.)
• Verb (to utter):
  • Anh ta chỉ thở ra toàn những lời phàn nàn. (He only utters complaints.)

Advanced Usage

• "thở dài": to sigh (a long, deep breath often expressing sadness, relief, or tiredness).
  • Cô ấy thở dài khi nghe tin đó. (She sighed when she heard the news.)
• "thở phào": to heave a sigh of relief.
  • Mọi người thở phào nhẹ nhõm khi kết quả tốt. (Everyone heaved a sigh of relief at the good result.)

Variants and Related Words

• Hô hấp (n): respiration (the formal biological term for the breathing process).
  • Hô hấp nhân tạo (artificial respiration).
• Hít thở (v): to inhale and exhale; to breathe.
  • Hãy hít thở thật sâu. (Take a deep breath.)

Synonyms

• Breathe: to inhale and exhale air.
• Respire: (formal) to breathe.
• Utter: to say something (for the colloquial meaning).

Related Idioms

• Tắt thở: to stop breathing; to die.
  • Nạn nhân đã tắt thở trước khi xe cấp cứu tới. (The victim had stopped breathing before the ambulance arrived.)
• Thở như bò: to breathe heavily like an ox; to pant or gasp for air, usually from exhaustion.
  • Sau khi chạy lên cầu thang, anh ấy thở như bò. (After running up the stairs, he was breathing heavily.)
• Để cho ai thở: to let someone breathe; to give someone a break or a moment of rest.
  • Công việc nhiều quá, hãy để tôi thở một chút đã. (There's too much work, let me catch my breath for a moment.)

verb

1. to breathe, to respire