Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Fetid, stinking, foul-smelling: "xú uế" describes something that emits a very unpleasant, offensive, and rotten odor.
   • Filthy, foul (in a moral/abstract sense): In a literary or archaic context, it can describe something morally corrupt or vile.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Căn phòng bỏ hoang tỏa ra mùi xú uế khó chịu. (The abandoned room emitted an unpleasant fetid odor.)
  • Những lời lẽ xú uế đó không nên có trong một cuộc thảo luận. (Those foul words should not be in a discussion.)

Advanced Usage

• This word is considered literary and somewhat archaic in modern Vietnamese. It carries a stronger, more formal, or poetic connotation than common words like "hôi" (smelly) or "thối" (rotten).
• It is often used to describe not just physical stench but also to evoke a sense of profound corruption, decay, or moral repulsiveness.

Variants and Related Words

• Xú uế (danh từ hóa): The state of being foul or fetid.
  • Sự xú uế của nơi đó khiến ai cũng kinh tởm. (The fetidness of that place disgusted everyone.)
• Ô uế: Another literary term meaning polluted, defiled, or unclean, often overlapping with "xú uế" in the abstract/moral sense.
• Hôi thối: A more common and direct compound adjective meaning smelly and rotten.

Synonyms

• Hôi thối: stinking, rotten.
• Hôi hám: smelly, stinky.
• Thối rữa: putrid, decaying.
• Hôi: smelly.

Related Idioms/Phrases

• While "xú uế" itself is not typically part of fixed idioms, it is used in expressive phrases to emphasize extreme foulness.
  • Mùi xú uế xông lên nồng nặc. (A thick, fetid smell rose up.)

adj

1. fetid