xóp xọp

Mặt ông cụ trông xóp xọp vì ốm nặng.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Extremely gaunt or emaciated: Describes a face or facial features that are severely sunken, thin, and withered, often due to illness, exhaustion, or extreme thinness. It conveys a stronger, more vivid sense of hollowness than just "gầy" (thin).

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Sau trận ốm nặng, mặt anh ấy trông xóp xọp. (After the serious illness, his face looked extremely gaunt.)
  • Bà cụ có khuôn mặt xóp xọp vì năm tháng vất vả. (The old woman had a deeply withered face from years of hardship.)

Advanced Usage

• The word is primarily used as a descriptive adjective and is often reinforced by the context of poor health, aging, or suffering. It is not typically used for objects.

Variants and Related Words

• Xọp (adj): Colloquial variant meaning sunken or deflated (e.g., a deflated ball, a sunken cheek). "Xóp xọp" is an intensified, reduplicative form of this root.

Synonyms

• Gaunt: Lean and haggard, especially from suffering or age.
• Emaciated: Abnormally thin or weak, often from illness or lack of food.
• Hollow-cheeked: Having sunken cheeks.

Related Idioms

• While "xóp xọp" itself is not commonly part of a fixed idiom, it is used in descriptive phrases to paint a vivid picture of physical decline.
  • Mặt xóp xọp vì thiếu ăn. (A face gaunt from lack of food.)