Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Meager, thin, not plump: Describes something, especially food items like fruit, grains, or animals, that is lacking in fullness, flesh, or substance, often appearing shriveled or hollow.
   • Hollow, not solid: Can describe objects that are not solid or dense inside.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Con cua này bị óp, không có nhiều thịt. (This crab is meager, it doesn't have much meat.)
  • Những hạt lúa óp thường bị loại bỏ. (The thin rice grains are usually discarded.)
  • Trái xoài này nhìn hơi óp, có lẽ đã để lâu. (This mango looks a bit shrivelled, perhaps it's been stored for too long.)

Advanced Usage

• "óp xác": An idiom meaning extremely thin, emaciated, or shriveled, often due to hunger, poverty, or exhaustion.
  • Sau trận ốm, anh ấy óp xác đi trông thấy. (After the illness, he became visibly emaciated.)

Variants and Related Words

• Lép: A close synonym meaning flat, thin, or not filled out (e.g., - a flat, empty grain).
• Xẹp: Collapsed, deflated (e.g., - a deflated ball). While similar, xẹp often implies a loss of air/pressure, whereas óp implies a natural lack of fullness.
• Khô héo: Withered, dried up. This emphasizes dryness, while óp can occur without complete dryness.

Synonyms

• Gầy còm: Skinny, scrawny (usually for people/animals).
• Teo tóp: Shrunken, withered.
• Không chắc hạt: Not full-grained (specific to grains).

Related Idioms

• "Óp như con mắm": As thin as a salted fish (a simile emphasizing extreme thinness or shriveling).
  • Làm việc cực quá, óp như con mắm. (Working too hard, he's as thin as a rake.)
• "Cua óp": A set phrase for a meager crab, often used metaphorically for something of poor quality or little value.
  • Hợp đồng đó là cua óp, không đáng để ký. (That contract is a dud, not worth signing.)

1. Meager
   • Cua óp
     A meager crab