Definition

1. Adjective (describing a person):

   • Efficient, competent, or useful: Describes a person who is effective at completing tasks, especially practical or minor jobs, and can be relied upon to get things done properly.
   • Handy, helpful: Indicates someone who is adept and makes themselves useful in various situations.

2. Adjective (describing an action or situation):

   • Convenient, expedient, or for the sake of getting something done: Refers to an action taken or a decision made primarily to resolve a matter, achieve a practical outcome, or for the sake of convenience, often implying a desire to conclude something.

Usage Examples

• Describing a person:

  • Chú bé này rất được việc. (This little boy is very efficient / is a very handy helper.)
  • Cô ấy là một nhân viên rất được việc. (She is a very competent employee.)

• Describing an action/situation:

  • Thôi nhận lời đi cho được việc. (Just agree to it to get it over with / for the sake of convenience.)
  • Chúng ta nên làm thế cho được việc. (We should do it that way to get the job done / for expediency's sake.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase often implies a sense of practical utility rather than formal skill or theoretical knowledge. It emphasizes results and usefulness in everyday contexts.
• When describing a decision ("cho được việc"), it can carry a nuance of settling or compromising to achieve a practical resolution, not necessarily the ideal one.

Variants and Related Words

• Làm được việc (verb phrase): to be capable of working, to be an effective worker.

  • Anh ta biết cách làm được việc. (He knows how to get the job done.)

• Người được việc (noun phrase): a competent person, a useful person.

  • Công ty cần tuyển những người được việc. (The company needs to hire competent people.)

Synonyms

• Efficient: achieving maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort.
• Competent: having the necessary ability or skills.
• Expedient: convenient and practical, though possibly improper or immoral.
• Useful: able to be used for a practical purpose.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Ăn được làm được: (lit. can eat, can work) describes someone who is both healthy and a good, capable worker.

  • Tìm người ăn được làm được mới khó. (It's hard to find someone who is both robust and a capable worker.)

• Được mùa được việc: (lit. a good harvest, effective work) signifies a period where everything is going well and productively.

  • Năm nay được mùa được việc, mọi người đều phấn khởi. (This year, with a good harvest and productive work, everyone is excited.)

1. Efficient (in minor jobs), being a handy man
   • Chú bé này rất được việc
     This little boy is very efficient (is a handy man)
2. For convenience's sake, for the sake of having done with it, just to have
   • done with it. Thôi nhận lời đi cho được việc To make up one's
     mind to accept just to have done with it (for convenience's sake)