trơ mắt
Definition
- Adjective phrase:
- To be left staring helplessly / to be reduced to a state of helpless staring: Describes the state of a person who can only watch a situation unfold, unable to act or intervene due to powerlessness, shock, or regret.
- To be dumbfounded / to be left agape: Conveys a state of stunned inaction, often due to surprise, loss, or the realization that one cannot change an outcome.
Usage Examples
- Adjective phrase:
- Thấy con thuyền trôi đi, anh ta chỉ biết đứng trơ mắt nhìn. (Seeing the boat drift away, he could only stand and stare helplessly.)
- Làm hỏng chiếc máy tính mới, nó đứng trơ mắt ra vì tiếc. (Having broken the new computer, he stood there dumbfounded with regret.)
- Cảnh sát đến muộn, bọn họ trơ mắt nhìn kẻ trộm bỏ chạy. (The police arrived late; they were left staring helplessly as the thief ran away.)
Advanced Usage
- The phrase often implies a passive, defeated observation following a failed action or a missed opportunity.
- It can be intensified as "trơ mắt ếch" (literally: to be left staring like a frog), which emphasizes a more profound state of foolish or stunned helplessness.
- Kế hoạch thất bại hoàn toàn, cả nhóm trơ mắt ếch. (The plan failed completely, leaving the whole group staring foolishly/utterly helpless.)
Variants and Related Words
- Trơ tráo (adj): brazen, shameless (describes attitude, not helplessness).
- Ngơ ngác (adj): bewildered, dazed (describes confusion rather than specific powerlessness).
Synonyms
- To be left powerless: to be deprived of the ability to act.
- To be reduced to a spectator: to be forced into a passive, watching role.
- To be dumbstruck: to be so shocked or surprised that one is temporarily unable to react.
Related Idioms
- Đứng hình: to freeze (like a statue), often from shock or surprise.
- Nghe tin đó, cô ấy đứng hình mất mấy giây. (Hearing that news, she froze for a few seconds.)
- Chịu trận: to have to endure a situation passively, to take one's beating.
- Không có bằng chứng, chúng tôi đành chịu trận. (Having no evidence, we had to endure it helplessly.)