tiêu muối
Definition
- Adjective:
- Pepper-and-salt: Used to describe hair that is a mixture of black or dark hair with many white or grey hairs, giving a speckled appearance similar to a mixture of ground black pepper and white salt.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Mái tóc của ông ấy đã bắt đầu điểm tiêu muối. (His hair has begun to be peppered with grey.)
- Cô ấy để nguyên mái tóc tiêu muối của mình, không nhuộm. (She keeps her pepper-and-salt hair, without dyeing it.)
Advanced Usage
- The term is almost exclusively used to describe the color and pattern of human hair, indicating the early or intermediate stages of greying.
Variants and Related Words
- Bạc (adj): grey; white (for hair). This indicates hair that is fully or predominantly grey/white, unlike "tiêu muối" which describes a mixture.
- Tóc ông cụ đã bạc trắng. (The old man's hair was completely white.)
Synonyms
- Salt-and-pepper: The direct and most common English equivalent.
- Grey-streaked: Having streaks of grey.
- Grizzled: Streaked or mixed with grey (often used for hair or fur).
Related Idioms
- While "tiêu muối" itself is not typically part of a longer idiom, it descriptively conveys the idea of aging or maturity.
- Mái tóc tiêu muối chứng tỏ kinh nghiệm sống. (Pepper-and-salt hair proves life experience.)