Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Having a showy or attractive appearance: Refers to something or someone that looks good outwardly, often implying the attractiveness is superficial and may not reflect true quality, substance, or inner value. It emphasizes form over function.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Chiếc xe này rất đẹp mã nhưng động cơ thì kém. (This car has a very showy appearance, but the engine is poor.)
  • Đừng mua trái cây chỉ vì đẹp mã, có thể bên trong không ngon. (Don't buy fruit just for its attractive appearance; the inside might not be tasty.)
  • Anh ta là người đẹp mã nhưng tính tình không tốt. (He is a person with a handsome appearance but a bad character.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is often used in a slightly critical or cautionary context to highlight a disparity between external appeal and internal reality. It can apply to objects, people, or even abstract concepts like a proposal that seems good on the surface.

Variants and Related Words

• Hào nhoáng (adj): flashy, gaudy. Emphasizes a showy and often tasteless appearance.

  • Cửa hàng đó trang trí rất hào nhoáng. (That store is decorated very flashily.)

• Bề ngoài (n): appearance, exterior. Often used in phrases like "chỉ tốt bề ngoài" (only good on the outside).

  • Đừng tin vào vẻ bề ngoài. (Don't trust appearances.)

Synonyms

• Showy: attracting attention in a gaudy or obvious way.
• Superficially attractive: pleasing to look at but lacking depth.
• Decorative: serving to make something look attractive, often with implications of non-essential function.

Related Idioms

• Tốt mã dẻ cùi: A direct, proverbial idiom meaning "good appearance, rotten core." Used to describe something or someone that looks appealing but is worthless or bad inside.

  • Mua phải con gà tốt mã dẻ cùi. (I bought a chicken that looked good but was tough and bad.)

• Bề ngoài thơn thớt nói cười, bên trong nham hiểm giết người không dao: A folk saying meaning "Outwardly genial and smiling, inside sinister enough to kill without a knife." It warns against judging by "đẹp mã" alone.

1. Having showy appearance