Definition

Verb: - To wait for eagerly / to look forward to: To anticipate something or someone's arrival with strong hope and attention, often while watching or waiting. It conveys a sense of yearning and patient expectation.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Cả gia đình đang trông ngóng bố đi công tác về. (The whole family is eagerly waiting for dad to return from his business trip.)
  • Chúng tôi trông ngóng kết quả cuộc thi. (We are looking forward to the competition results.)
  • Em bé trông ngóng mẹ từ cửa sổ. (The baby watched for her mother eagerly from the window.)

Advanced Usage

• The verb often implies a prolonged or emotional state of waiting, combining visual attention ("trông" - to look/watch) with hopeful anticipation ("ngóng" - to crane one's neck, to expect).
• It is commonly used for awaiting people, news, or important events, emphasizing the emotional investment of the subject.

Variants and Related Words

• Trông chờ (v): to wait for, to hope for. This is a close synonym but can sometimes be slightly less intense than "trông ngóng."
  • Tôi trông chờ ngày gặp lại bạn. (I am waiting for the day I meet you again.)
• Mong ngóng (v): to long for, to yearn for. Very similar in meaning and emotional weight.
  • Cô ấy mong ngóng tin tức từ người thân. (She yearns for news from her relatives.)

Synonyms

• To await eagerly
• To anticipate
• To look for (in the sense of expectantly watching for)

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Trông ngóng như trời trông mưa: To wait for something as eagerly as the earth waits for rain. This idiom intensifies the sense of desperate or deeply needed expectation.
  • Người nông dân trông ngóng cơn mưa như trời trông mưa. (The farmers awaited the rain as eagerly as the sky awaits rain.)

verb

1. to wait for, to look forward to