Definition

1. Verb:
   • To sting, to smart, to burn (physically): To feel a sharp, burning, or irritating sensation, often on the skin, in the eyes, or in a wound.
   • To feel pity, compassion, or heartache (emotionally): To feel a deep sense of sorrow, sympathy, or pain for someone else's suffering or misfortune.
   • To regret, to feel a pang of loss (often regarding resources): To feel sharp regret or distress, especially over a loss of money, effort, or possessions.

Usage Examples

• Verb (Physical sensation):
  • Thuốc nhỏ mắt này làm xót quá. (This eye drops sting so much.)
  • Vết thương xót khi bị nước muối vào. (The wound smarted when the salt water got in.)
• Verb (Emotional pity):
  • Nhìn cảnh đó, ai cũng thấy xót. (Seeing that scene, everyone felt pity.)
  • Bà xót cháu nên chiều chuộng. (The grandmother felt sorry for her grandchild, so she spoiled him.)
• Verb (Regret over loss):
  • Ông ấy xót của nên không nỡ vứt. (He regretted the waste, so he couldn't bring himself to throw it away.)
  • Xót công sức bỏ ra mà không có kết quả. (To feel a pang over the effort expended without results.)

Advanced Usage

• "xót xa": An intensified or more literary form, expressing profound sorrow, heartache, or poignant regret.
  • Lòng mẹ xót xa khi con phải đi xa. (The mother's heart ached when her child had to go far away.)
• "của đau con xót": An idiom meaning "one feels pain for what one has labored to acquire," similar to "you only appreciate what you've worked hard for."
  • Anh ấy giữ gìn chiếc xe rất cẩn thận, đúng là của đau con xót. (He takes very good care of his car; it's true that you cherish what you've toiled for.)

Variants and Related Words

• Xót xa (adj/verb): Aching, heartrending, to feel deep sorrow (intensified form of ).
• Xon xót (adj/verb): A milder, tingling or smarting sensation, often physical.
  • Da mặt xon xót sau khi rửa. (My face tingles after washing.)
• Thương xót (verb): To pity, to have compassion for (combines - to love/feel for - and ).

Synonyms

• (Physical): Sting, smart, burn, irritate.
• (Emotional): Pity, feel for, sympathize, ache for.
• (Regret): Regret, rue, begrudge.

Related Idioms

• "Xót ruột" / "Xót lòng": To feel a pang in one's guts/heart; to be deeply distressed or anxious.
  • Nghe tin con ốm, mẹ xót ruột. (Hearing her child was sick, the mother was deeply distressed.)
• "Xót của": To regret the loss or waste of money/possessions.
  • Bỏ đi món đồ còn dùng được thì xót của. (Throwing away a still-usable item is a waste.)

verb

1. sting, smart