Definition

1. Interjection (Exclamation):
   • Fancy that! / Can you believe it?: Used to express strong surprise, disbelief, or disapproval at something considered strange, absurd, or unreasonable. It conveys a sense of "How could such a thing happen?" or "It's unbelievable that...".

Usage Examples

• Interjection:
  • Ai đời tờ báo lá cải như thế mà cô ta vẫn đọc! (Fancy her reading such a rag!)
  • Ai đời chuyện vô lí thế mà nó cũng tin! (Can you believe he believes such nonsense!)
  • Ai đời, 10 giờ sáng mà nó vẫn còn ngủ! (Fancy that, it's 10 a.m. and he's still sleeping!)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase is exclusively used in spoken Vietnamese or informal contexts as a rhetorical exclamation. It often stands alone at the beginning of a sentence to set a tone of shock or criticism before stating the surprising fact.

Synonyms

• Thật khó tin!: Unbelievable!
• Thật là lạ!: How strange!
• Thật vô lý!: How absurd!

Related Idioms

• Đời nào!: A shorter, similarly emphatic exclamation meaning "Never!" or "No way!", often used to reject an idea strongly. While related in tone, "đời nào" is more about refusal, whereas "ai đời" is about astonishment.
  • Đời nào tôi lại làm thế! (No way would I ever do that!)

khẩu ngữ

1. Fancy
   • ai đời tờ báo lá cải như thế mà cô ta vẫn đọc
     fancy her reading such a rag!