ẻo họe

Definition
  1. Adjective:
    • Weak and sickly in appearance: Describes a person, plant, or animal that looks frail, feeble, and lacking vitality, often due to illness or poor health.
    • Limp and drooping: Describes something that is not firm or upright, appearing wilted, flaccid, or lacking strength and support.
Usage Examples
  • Adjective:
    • Cây hoa này trông ẻo họe quá, chắc là thiếu nước. (This flower looks so wilted and feeble; it must be lacking water.)
    • Đứa bé mới ốm dậy nên người còn ẻo họe. (The child just recovered from an illness so he still looks weak and sickly.)
    • Sợi dây ẻo họe, làm sao treo nổi cái áo? (The rope is so limp and flimsy; how can it hold up the coat?)
Advanced Usage
  • The term is often used to express pity, criticism, or disappointment towards the weak state of something or someone. It emphasizes a visual assessment of poor condition.
Variants and Related Words
  • Ẻo ọe: A variant form with identical meaning and usage.
    • Nó ăn uống kém nên người cứ ẻo ọe. (He eats poorly so he remains frail and feeble.)
Synonyms
  • Frail: Weak and delicate.
  • Feeble: Lacking physical strength, especially due to age or illness.
  • Wilted: (Of a plant) become limp through heat, loss of water, or disease.
  • Flimsy: Insubstantial and easily damaged.
Related Idioms
  • While "ẻo họe" itself is not typically part of a fixed idiom, its meaning contributes to descriptive phrases about weakness.
    • Ốm yếu ẻo họe: To be sickly and frail.
      • Bà cụ ốm yếu ẻo họe không đi lại được. (The old woman is sickly and frail and cannot walk around.)