trống hoác
Definition
- Adjective:
- Extremely empty or hollow: Describes a space, container, or area that is completely vacant, with nothing inside, often emphasizing a stark, bare, or desolate quality. It conveys a stronger sense of emptiness than similar words.
- Gaping wide: Describes something that is open very wide, creating a large, empty aperture.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Căn phòng trống hoác, không một bóng người. (The room was utterly empty, without a soul in sight.)
- Cái tủ đã bị lấy hết đồ, trống hoác. (The cabinet had all its contents removed, leaving it completely hollow.)
- Cánh cổng mở trống hoác ra đường. (The gate was gaping wide open to the street.)
Advanced Usage
- The word is often used to evoke a feeling of abandonment, loneliness, or neglect due to the pronounced emptiness it describes. It can be applied to both physical spaces and, metaphorically, to situations or feelings.
Variants and Related Words
Trống trải (adj): bare, empty, exposed (often for landscapes or open spaces).
- Cánh đồng trống trải. (The field is bare and open.)
Trống rỗng (adj): empty, void, hollow (can be used for physical objects or abstract feelings like an empty heart).
- Cảm giác trống rỗng. (A feeling of emptiness.)
Trống hốc (adj): This is a direct variant with identical meaning to "trống hoác," sometimes considered slightly more colloquial.
Synonyms
- Completely empty
- Gaping
- Hollow
- Vacant
- Bare
Related Idioms and Phrases
- Trống hoác như nhà cháy: As empty as a burned-down house (emphasizing total emptiness).
- Kho hàng giờ trống hoác như nhà cháy. (The warehouse is now as empty as a burned-down house.)