How to express this

Question

Hello....How can I express this in English, in short sentence?She was skinny but when I saw her again after some time, she was even more skinny than before. Because of this, when I saw her, I felt a litle sorry for her, also felt a little pity toward her. The feeling is rather more about reproach or disapproval, than taking pity, like, “Why the hell did she make her so skinny?”.Or, to put it differently....Someone has become suddenly poor. Then he starts to behave diifferently from before. For example, he tries to save money on a scale that is almost insignificant and not much helpful...In Korean, we have some expressions like “She looked ___.”Maybe it’s difficult to convey the same feeling in this sentence structure.In English it may be the structure, “I had a feeling that ~ .”?

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

She looked gaunt / emaciated / scrawny.

Pructus · Answer

I see... I see...
Thanks so much, AlpheccaStars!!

I looked up the dictionary and the words, gaunt, emaciated, scrawny, all describe appearances.
What I have in mind is the inner/mental attitude toward the look/behavior.
Very similar situation will be: A grown-up person is crying with klinex box beside her, for some small things.
In that case, I feel sorry for the person but I don't approve of such a behavior.

Or, if someone makes himself very skinny, then when I look at him, I say, "He is/looks ___."
English speakers, in this kind of situation, just say, "He looks gaunt/emaciated/scrawny"?
On top of this, can't we add some kind of disapproving comments?

The situation is not directly speaking to the person.
It is what I feel toward the person's situation.
I could say to other people about the person.
For example: "I saw him yesterday and he was so skinny that he looked ____.".
The meaning might be similar to "Because he is so skinny, he seems to be not equal to be some important position."

I looked up my Korean-English dictionary, which recommends the word, plaintive.

Is this the correct word?

Then, we could say, "He was so skinny that he looked plaintive"?
Do native speakers say like this?

Pructus · Answer

How about...

He was so scrawny as to look off.

"off" in the meaning that he was unbecoming to the situation or to himself as usual.

Is this one passable to native speakers?

I have been reading a Korean novel translated in English, and the original description was not translated.
And I have been wondering, if it was translated, how it would have been...

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Sometimes we just say:
I feel for her.

The feeling might be pity, sympathy, empathy, sorrow, etc.

Pructus · Answer

I see... I see...
That is a great help, AlpheccaStars...
Thanks so much...

How to express this

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions