Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Too familiar, offensively familiar, improper: Describes behavior that is overly casual, presumptuous, or lacking in proper respect, often in a social or interpersonal context. It implies a breach of decorum or etiquette.
   • Licentious, ribald, suggestive: Can describe speech, jokes, or behavior that is indecently humorous, risqué, or of a coarse, sexual nature.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Anh ta có cử chỉ bả lả trước mặt mọi người. (He made offensively familiar gestures in front of everyone.)
  • Những câu chuyện bả lả không nên kể ở nơi công cộng. (Ribald stories should not be told in public places.)
  • Đừng có bả lả với người lớn tuổi như vậy. (Don't be so improperly familiar with your elders.)

Advanced Usage

• "giở trò bả lả" / "giở những trò bả lả": To indulge in familiarities; to act in an offensively familiar or improper manner; to take liberties.
  • Hắn ta thường giở trò bả lả với các nhân viên mới. (He often takes liberties with new employees.)
• Used to criticize behavior that crosses social boundaries, especially from a person of lower status towards someone of higher status, or from a man towards a woman.

Variants and Related Words

• Lả lơi (adj): Flirtatious, coquettish; often used to describe suggestive behavior or mannerisms, typically of a woman. While related, "lả lơi" often has a more specifically flirtatious connotation, whereas "bả lả" is broader, covering general impropriety and offensiveness.
• Sỗ sàng (adj): Boorish, rude, tactless. This is a close synonym but focuses more on crude manners rather than the inappropriate familiarity of "bả lả".
• Vô lễ (adj): Impolite, disrespectful. This is a more general term for lack of respect.

Synonyms

• Sỗ sàng: Boorish, rude.
• Vô phép: Ill-mannered.
• Khiếm nhã: Indecorous, unseemly.
• Tục tĩu: Vulgar, coarse (especially for speech/jokes).

Notes on Meaning and Context

• The word bả lả carries a strong negative judgment. It is not used for simple friendliness or casual behavior, but specifically for behavior that is deemed and familiar, breaking social norms.
• It often implies a lack of respect for hierarchy, age, or gender norms.
• While it can describe licentious or ribald humor, its core meaning revolves around inappropriate familiarity and impropriety in conduct.

adj

1. Too familiar, offensively familiar, improper
   • giở những trò bả lả
     to indulge in familiarities, to indulge in improprieties, to take liberties