trắng bệch
Definition
- Adjective:
- Pale white, pallid, wan: Describes a white color that is unnaturally pale, lacking healthy color or vibrancy. It often implies a sickly, faded, or lifeless appearance.
- Faded white: Describes something that has become white or pale due to the loss of its original color, often from age, wear, or exposure.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Sau cơn sốt, mặt cô ấy trắng bệch. (After the fever, her face was deathly pale.)
- Bức tường trắng bệch vì nắng mưa. (The wall is a faded white from sun and rain.)
- Anh ấy sợ hãi đến nỗi da mặt trắng bệch. (He was so frightened that his face turned ashen.)
Advanced Usage
- The term "trắng bệch" is often used to describe a person's complexion due to illness, shock, or fear, emphasizing an absence of healthy color. It can carry a negative connotation, suggesting weakness or something unnatural.
- It is also used for inanimate objects, like walls or fabric, to indicate a dull, washed-out whiteness from deterioration.
Variants and Related Words
- Trắng nhợt (adj): pallid, pasty. A very close synonym, also describing a sickly pale color.
- Trắng toát (adj): stark white, pure white. Can describe a bright, uniform white, but without the sickly connotation of .
- Bệch (adj): pallid, pale. Can be used alone but is less common than the compound form.
Synonyms
- Pallid: Lacking color, especially from illness.
- Wan: Pale and giving the impression of illness or exhaustion.
- Ashen: Of a pale grayish color, like ashes, often due to fear or illness.
- Faded: Having lost brightness or color.
Related Idioms
- Mặt trắng bệch như vôi: Face as white as lime. An idiom intensifying the meaning, describing an extreme state of pallor.
- Nghe tin dữ, mặt ông ấy trắng bệch như vôi. (Hearing the bad news, his face turned as white as a sheet.)