ươn ướt

Definition
  1. Adjective:
    • Damp and unpleasantly soft or limp: Describes something that is not just wet, but unpleasantly moist, often to the point of being soggy, flabby, or lacking firmness, typically due to excess moisture. It often carries a negative connotation of being spoiled or unpleasant to the touch.
    • Excessively sentimental or mawkish: Used figuratively to describe emotional expression, writing, or behavior that is overly and unpleasantly sentimental, weak, or lacking in strength or substance.
Usage Examples
  • Adjective (Physical State):
    • Miếng bánh mì để ngoài không khí đã trở nên ươn ướt. (The piece of bread left in the air became damp and soggy.)
    • Con cá này có vẻ ươn ướt, có lẽ không còn tươi. (This fish seems limp and damp, perhaps it's no longer fresh.)
  • Adjective (Figurative, Emotional State):
    • Bài phát biểu của anh ấy nghe quá ươn ướt và thiếu thuyết phục. (His speech sounded too mawkish and unconvincing.)
    • Cô ấy không thích những bộ phim có kết thúc ươn ướt. (She doesn't like movies with overly sentimental endings.)
Advanced Usage
  • The word is often used to emphasize a state beyond simple wetness ("ướt"), implying a loss of desirable texture, freshness, or strength. It can describe food that is beginning to spoil due to moisture, or fabric that is unpleasantly clammy.
Variants and Related Words
  • Ướt (adj): Wet. The core root meaning simply "wet," without the negative connotation of sogginess or limpness.
  • Sũng nước (adj): Soaked, waterlogged. Implies being full of water.
  • Nhũn (adj): Mushy, pulpy. Often describes something that has lost its structure, similar to the physical aspect of "ươn ướt."
Synonyms
  • Soggy: Wet and soft in a unpleasant way.
  • Dank: Unpleasantly damp and cold.
  • Limp: Lacking stiffness or firmness.
  • Mawkish: Sentimental in a feeble or sickly way (for figurative use).
  • Clammy: Unpleasantly damp and sticky.
Related Idioms and Phrases
  • While "ươn ướt" itself is not commonly part of a fixed idiom, its figurative use criticizes something as being "ướt át," which also means excessively sentimental or weepy.
    • Lời tỏ tình của nhân vật chính thật ướt át. (The main character's confession was so soppy.)