xờ xạc
Definition
- Adjective:
- Tattered, ragged, or threadbare: Describes objects, especially fabrics or materials, that are worn out, frayed, and in a state of disrepair.
- Bedraggled or disheveled: Describes a person's appearance as untidy, worn out, or exhausted-looking.
- Sparse and withered: Describes vegetation, such as trees or plants, that is bare, dry, and stripped of leaves, often due to weather or poor health.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Chiếc áo cũ đã sờn và trông xờ xạc. (The old shirt was worn and looked tattered.)
- Sau trận bão, khu vườn trở nên xờ xạc. (After the storm, the garden became bedraggled and sparse.)
- Anh ấy bước vào với vẻ ngoài xờ xạc sau chuyến đi dài. (He walked in with a disheveled appearance after the long journey.)
Advanced Usage
- "xờ xạc xác": An intensified form emphasizing a state of being utterly tattered, ruined, or devastated.
- Căn nhà bỏ hoang trông xờ xạc xác. (The abandoned house looked completely ruined and dilapidated.)
Variants and Related Words
Tiêu điều (adj): desolate, bleak (often describing a landscape or scene).
- Khung cảnh mùa đông thật tiêu điều. (The winter scene is truly desolate.)
Tả tơi (adj): torn to shreds, ragged (often with a stronger connotation of being ripped apart).
- Lá cờ bay trong gió lớn trở nên tả tơi. (The flag flying in the strong wind became torn to shreds.)
Synonyms
- Tattered: torn and in poor condition.
- Bedraggled: dirty and disheveled from being in rain or mud.
- Withered: dry and shriveled, as in plants.
- Dilapidated: in a state of disrepair or ruin.
Related Idioms
- Xác xơ xờ xạc: An idiom describing something as completely worn out, impoverished, or devastated, both physically and sometimes metaphorically.
- Công ty đó giờ chỉ còn là một doanh nghiệp xác xơ xờ xạc. (That company is now just a devastated and impoverished enterprise.)