Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Very far, distant: Describes a great physical distance, often implying a place that is remote or hard to reach.
   • Remote, far-off: Describes something that is very distant in time, feeling, or memory, often evoking a sense of vagueness or being long past.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Anh ấy sống ở một vùng đất xa xăm. (He lives in a far-off / distant land.)
  • Đó là một ký ức xa xăm từ thời thơ ấu. (That is a distant / remote memory from childhood.)
  • Giấc mơ của cô ấy dường như xa xăm và khó đạt được. (Her dream seems remote and hard to achieve.)

Advanced Usage

• "xa xăm cách trở": far away and separated by obstacles (often used to emphasize difficulty in travel or connection).
  • Quê hương giờ đã xa xăm cách trở. (My homeland is now far away and difficult to reach.)
• "xa xăm thăm thẳm": immensely distant, profoundly far (adds a poetic or emotional layer of depth and vastness).
  • Ánh mắt anh nhìn về phía chân trời xa xăm thăm thẳm. (His gaze looked toward the immensely distant horizon.)

Variants and Related Words

• Xa (adj): Far, distant. This is the core root word.
  • Nhà ga còn rất xa. (The station is still very far.)
• Xa xôi (adj): Remote, far-flung. Very similar in meaning to "xa xăm," often used interchangeably, though "xa xôi" can sometimes sound slightly less poetic.
  • Một ý tưởng xa xôi. (A far-fetched idea.)
• Xa cách (v/n): To be separated by distance; separation.
  • Họ xa cách nhau vì công việc. (They are separated because of work.)

Synonyms

• Xa: far, distant.
• Viễn xứ (literary): a faraway region.
• Hẻo lánh: remote, secluded (often for places).
• Mù mịt: vague, dim (for memories or future prospects).

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Xa mặt cách lòng: Out of sight, out of mind. (Literal: Far face, separated heart.)
  • Đi công tác lâu, anh sợ xa mặt cách lòng. (Being on a long business trip, he fears out of sight, out of mind.)
• Đường xa ngựa mỏi: A long road tires the horse. (Implies that a long journey is tiring or that achieving a distant goal requires great effort.)
  • Theo đuổi ước mơ ấy là đường xa ngựa mỏi. (Pursuing that dream is a long and arduous journey.)

noun

1. very far