Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Very small (eyes): Describes eyes that are naturally narrow, small, or appear as mere slits, often due to smiling, sleepiness, or their inherent shape.
   • Slit-like (eyes): Characterizes eyes that are barely open, forming a thin line.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Cậu bé có đôi mắt ti hí, lúc nào cũng như sắp cười. (The boy has very small eyes that always look like he's about to laugh.)
  • Anh ấy thức khuya nên sáng nay mắt chỉ mở ti hí. (He stayed up late, so this morning his eyes were only open a tiny slit.)
  • "Ti hí mắt lươn" là một thành ngữ. ("Ti hí mắt lươn" is an idiom.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is almost exclusively used to describe the eyes (). It is a vivid, descriptive adjective often found in literary or colloquial descriptions.

Variants and Related Words

• Hí hí (adj, adv): An onomatopoeic or reduplicative form sometimes used to describe a small, suppressed laugh or smile, which can accompany .
  • Cô ấy cười hí hí với đôi mắt ti hí. (She giggled with her slit-like eyes.)

Synonyms

• Slit-eyed: Having narrow eyes.
• Beady (eyes): Small and bright eyes (can share the connotation of smallness but not necessarily the slit shape).
• Narrow (eyes): Of small width.

Related Idioms

• Ti hí mắt lươn: Literally "small, slit eyes like an eel's." An idiom used to describe someone with narrow, cunning, or untrustworthy-looking eyes.
  • Người đó trông gian xảo với đôi mắt ti hí mắt lươn. (That person looks cunning with his narrow, eel-like eyes.)

adj

1. very small, slit (mắt)