xanh bủng
Definition
- Adjective:
- Sickly green; pallid; ashen: Describes a very pale, greenish, and unhealthy complexion, typically resulting from severe illness, extreme fear, exhaustion, or malnutrition. It implies a complete lack of healthy color and vitality in the skin.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Sau trận ốm nặng, mặt cô ấy xanh bủng. (After the serious illness, her face was sickly green.)
- Nghe tin dữ, anh ta tái mặt, trông xanh bủng. (Upon hearing the bad news, he turned pale and looked ashen.)
- Đứa trẻ suy dinh dưỡng có làn da xanh bủng. (The malnourished child has a pallid complexion.)
Advanced Usage
- The term "xanh bủng" is often used in a comparative or descriptive chain for emphasis, such as "xanh bủng xanh beo", which intensifies the description to mean an even more extreme, livid, or ghastly pallor.
Variants and Related Words
Xanh xao (adj): pale, wan. This is a more common and slightly less intense term for paleness due to mild sickness or fatigue.
- Cô ấy trông hơi xanh xao vì mệt mỏi. (She looks a bit pale from tiredness.)
Tái mét (adj): deathly pale; ashen. Focuses on the loss of color, often from shock or fear, and can be synonymous with "xanh bủng" in many contexts.
- Mặt nó tái mét khi nhìn thấy cảnh tượng kinh hoàng. (His face turned deathly pale upon seeing the horrifying scene.)
Synonyms
- Pallid: lacking color, especially from illness.
- Ashen: of a very pale grayish color, like ashes.
- Wan: pale and giving the impression of illness or exhaustion.
- Livid: a dark bluish-gray color, often associated with bruising or extreme anger, but can describe a pale complexion in some literary contexts.
Related Idioms
- While "xanh bủng" itself is a descriptive adjective, it is frequently used within vivid descriptions of health or fright.
- Mặt mày xanh bủng như ma: "Face as green/pale as a ghost." This simile emphasizes a terrifying or deathly pallor.