Definition

1. Noun:

   • Bogey, bogy, bugbear, bugaboo: A frightening imaginary creature or monster, often used to scare children into good behavior.
   • A disreputable or contemptible person: A term for a person considered to be a knave, rascal, or cad.

2. Adjective:

   • Seedy, shabby, battered: Describing something in very poor, worn-out, or dilapidated condition.
   • Unprincipled, knavish, good-for-nothing: Describing a person of low moral character or dishonest behavior.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • Mẹ dọa sẽ gọi ông ba bị đến nếu con không ngoan. (Mom threatened to call the bogeyman if I wasn't good.)
  • Đừng tin hắn, hắn là một tên ba bị. (Don't trust him; he's a real knave.)

• Adjective:

  • Anh ta mặc một bộ quần áo ba bị. (He is wearing a seedy suit of clothes.)
  • Cái xe ba bị đó không đáng để sửa chữa. (That battered car isn't worth repairing.)
  • Hành vi ba bị của hắn khiến mọi người khinh bỉ. (His unprincipled behavior made everyone despise him.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "ba bị" is often used in a colloquial and somewhat vulgar register. As a noun, it personifies a scare figure. As an adjective, it carries a strong negative connotation, implying worthlessness or poor quality.

Variants and Related Words

• Ông ba bị (noun phrase): A more specific term for the bogeyman figure.
• Ba trợn (adj, informal): Similar in meaning to "ba bị" when describing something shabby or a person who is good-for-nothing.

Synonyms

• Noun (Bogey): Yêu tinh (goblin), ma quỷ (ghost, devil).
• Noun (Rascal): Kẻ vô lại (scoundrel), kẻ bất lương (unscrupulous person), du côn (hooligan).
• Adjective (Shabby): Tả tơi (tattered), cũ kỹ (old and worn), tồi tàn (dilapidated).
• Adjective (Unprincipled): Vô đạo đức (immoral), đểu cáng (mean, despicable), bất lương (unscrupulous).

Related Idioms

• Chơi trò ba bị: To play a dirty or underhanded trick.
  • Hắn chơi trò ba bị để chiếm đoạt tài sản. (He played a knavish trick to seize the property.)

noun

1. Bogey, bogy, bugbear, bugaboo
   • ông ba bị
     The bogey

adj

1. seedy, shabby, battered
   • bộ quần áo ba bị
     a seedy suit of clothes
2. unprincipled, knavish, good for nothing
   • anh chàng ba bị
     knave, rascal, cad