Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Lovesick: A state of deep, melancholic longing and yearning for a loved one, often to the point of causing physical or emotional distress. It describes a persistent, consuming thought of someone, typically a romantic interest, that one cannot be with.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Anh ấy ốm tương tư vì cô gái ấy đã đi xa. (He is lovesick because that girl has gone far away.)
  • Nỗi tương tư khiến cô không thể tập trung vào bất cứ việc gì. (The lovesickness makes her unable to focus on anything.)

Advanced Usage

• "ốm tương tư": to be sick with love/lovesickness.

  • Câu chuyện cổ tích thường kể về những chàng trai ốm tương tư vì một nàng công chúa. (Fairy tales often tell of young men sick with love for a princess.)

• "gánh tương tư": to bear/carry the burden of lovesickness (a poetic expression).

  • Một ngày nặng gánh tương tư một ngày. (Each day, the burden of lovesickness grows heavier.) (From Truyện Kiều)

Variants and Related Words

• Tương tư can also be used as a verb in classical/literary contexts, though "tương tư" as an adjective is most common in modern usage.
• Nhớ nhung (verb/phrase): to miss, to long for. (A more general term for missing someone, less intense than "tương tư").
• Thương nhớ (verb/phrase): to love and miss. (Expresses affectionate longing).

Synonyms

• Lovesick: The direct translation, capturing the ailment-like aspect.
• Yearning: A deep, persistent longing.
• Pining: Suffering a mental and physical decline because of longing for someone.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Tương tư một mình: To be lovesick alone (unrequited love).

  • Mối tình đơn phương khiến anh chỉ biết tương tư một mình. (The unrequited love leaves him only knowing how to be lovesick alone.)

• Bệnh tương tư: The sickness of love (a poetic synonym for lovesickness).

  • Bệnh tương tư khó mà chữa được bằng thuốc thông thường. (The sickness of love is hard to cure with ordinary medicine.)

adj

1. lovesick