Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Unsteady, unstable, precarious: Describes something that is not firmly fixed, balanced, or secure, and is likely to wobble, rock, or fall. It often refers to a physical object's instability.
   • Uncertain, precarious, shaky: Describes a non-physical situation, position, or state that is insecure, uncertain, and likely to fail or change suddenly.

Usage Examples

• Adjective (Physical):

  • Chiếc thang đặt ở vị trí chông chênh. (The ladder was placed in an unsteady position.)
  • Phiến đá chông chênh. (A tottering slab of stone.)

• Adjective (Figurative):

  • Công ty đang ở trong tình thế chông chênh. (The company is in a precarious situation.)
  • Thế đứng chông chênh. (A tottering position.)

Advanced Usage

• Used to describe psychological or emotional states of instability.
  • Cảm xúc của cô ấy rất chông chênh sau biến cố. (Her emotions were very unstable after the incident.)

Variants and Related Words

• Chênh vênh (adj): Also means precarious or unsteady, often used interchangeably with "chông chênh," though sometimes with a nuance of being perched or tilted.
  • Ngôi nhà nhỏ chênh vênh trên sườn núi. (The small house perched precariously on the mountainside.)

Synonyms

• Unsteady: Not firmly or securely fixed.
• Precarious: Not securely held or in position; dangerously likely to fall or collapse.
• Unstable: Prone to change, fail, or give way; not stable.
• Shaky: Shaking or trembling; not solid or secure.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Bước đi chông chênh: To walk unsteadily.

  • Người say rượu bước đi chông chênh. (The drunk man walked unsteadily.)

• Sống trong cảnh chông chênh: To live in a precarious state/circumstance.

  • Nhiều người lao động sống trong cảnh chông chênh. (Many workers live in precarious circumstances.)

adj

1. Tottering
   • phiến đá chông chênh
     a tottering slab of stone
   • thế đứng chông chênh
     a tottering position