Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Playful, mischievous, clowning around: Describes behavior that is humorous, silly, or not serious, often in a childish or lighthearted way. It implies a sense of joking or fooling around without malicious intent.
   • Absurd, nonsensical: Can describe a situation, story, or action that is ridiculous or makes no logical sense.

2. Verb (informal, dialectal):

   • To hop, to skip (like a child): In some dialects, particularly in Northern Vietnam, it refers to the playful, hopping movement of children.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • Anh ấy lúc nào cũng đùa cà tửng, chẳng nghiêm túc lúc nào cả. (He's always joking around, never serious.)
  • Câu chuyện anh kể nghe thật cà tửng và khó tin. (The story you told sounds utterly absurd and hard to believe.)
  • Tính nó cà tửng lắm, đừng tin những gì nó nói đùa. (He's very mischievous, don't believe what he says as a joke.)

• Verb (dialectal):

  • Mấy đứa trẻ cà tửng trên con đường làng. (The children are skipping/hopping along the village path.)

Advanced Usage

• "Chuyện cà tửng": A nonsensical/ridiculous story or matter.

  • Đừng quan tâm mấy chuyện cà tửng ấy làm gì. (Don't bother with those ridiculous matters.)

• "Tính cà tửng": A playful, joking personality.

  • Nhờ tính cà tửng mà anh ấy luôn tạo không khí vui vẻ. (Thanks to his playful nature, he always creates a cheerful atmosphere.)

Variants and Related Words

• Cà tưng: A common variant spelling with the same meaning.
• Nhí nhảnh (adj): Bubbly, vivacious (similar in lightness but less focused on absurdity).
• Láu cá (adj): Sly, cunning (shares mischievousness but implies more cleverness).

Synonyms

• Bông đùa (adj/v): To joke, to tease.
• Linh tinh (adj): Miscellaneous, nonsensical (in context).
• Vô lý (adj): Illogical, unreasonable.

Related Phrases/Idioms

• Đùa cà tửng: To joke around in a silly, nonsensical way.

  • Nó chỉ đang đùa cà tửng thôi, đừng giận. (He's just clowning around, don't be angry.)

• Chuyện cà tửng (as above): An absurd/nonsensical story. This is a fixed phrase where the adjective is used nominally.

1. như cà tưng