trợn
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb:
- To open (one's eyes) very wide, to the maximum extent: This is the primary meaning, describing the action of opening the eyes extremely wide, often due to strong emotion.
- To glare, to glower: This meaning describes staring with wide-open eyes, typically to express anger, threat, surprise, or intensity.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Anh ấy trợn mắt nhìn tôi đầy giận dữ. (He glared at me with wide-open eyes, full of anger.)
- Cô ấy trợn tròn mắt vì ngạc nhiên. (She opened her eyes wide in surprise.)
- Đừng có trợn mắt với tôi! (Don't you glare at me!)
Advanced Usage
- "trợn mắt": This is the most common and natural collocation. The verb trợn almost always requires the object mắt (eyes) to form a complete phrase meaning "to glare" or "to open one's eyes wide."
- Thằng bé trợn mắt nhìn con ma. (The boy stared with wide eyes at the ghost.)
- "trợn trừng" / "trợn tròn": These are emphatic variations using reduplication for intensity, meaning "to stare with eyes wide open and bulging."
- Hắn trợn trừng đôi mắt đỏ ngầu. (He glared with bloodshot eyes wide open.)
Variants and Related Words
- Chợn (x. chợn): A variant or related form, often seen in the reduplicated form trờn trợn (see below).
- Trờn trợn (adjective): A reduplicated form with an attenuated meaning, describing something that is blatant, brazen, or shamelessly obvious.
- Lời nói dối trờn trợn. (A blatant lie.)
- Note on Culinary Usage (Historical/Idiomatic): In older or specific contexts (e.g., from the Vietnamese-French dictionary), trợn can describe food, like beans or rice, that is not fully cooked/softened or not well-husked. This usage is now rare in modern everyday language.
- Đậu nấu còn trợn. (The beans are still hard/not fully cooked.)
Synonyms
- Lườm (verb): To glare, to look askance (often with anger or disapproval).
- Trừng (verb): To stare fixedly and sternly (often trừng mắt).
Related Idioms/Phrases
- Phồng má trợn mắt: Literally "to puff cheeks and glare." An idiom describing an extremely angry or threatening facial expression.
- Anh ta phồng má trợn mắt lên quát. (He puffed his cheeks and glared, then shouted.)