Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Offensive to the ear; grating; jarring: Describes sounds, words, or speech that are unpleasant, irritating, or shocking to hear, often because they are rude, vulgar, or socially unacceptable.
   • Unpalatable; unacceptable: Can describe something (often verbal) that is difficult to accept or endure because it is morally or aesthetically disagreeable.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Những lời chửi thề đó thật chướng tai. (Those swear words are truly grating to the ear.)
  • Đừng nói những điều chướng tai trước mặt trẻ con. (Don't say things that are offensive to the ear in front of children.)
  • Âm nhạc ồn ào từ nhà hàng xóm nghe thật chướng tai. (The loud music from the neighbor's house sounds very jarring.)

Advanced Usage

• "chướng tai gai mắt": This is a common four-word idiom.
  • Meaning: Literally "offensive to the ear and thorny to the eye." It describes something that is both audibly and visually objectionable, unseemly, or unpleasant.
  • Hành vi của họ ở nơi công cộng thật chướng tai gai mắt. (Their behavior in public is truly objectionable [to both ear and eye].)

Variants and Related Words

• Khó chịu (adj): Uncomfortable, unpleasant. A more general term for something that causes discomfort.
• Nghịch nhĩ (adj, literary): Harsh to the ear; dissonant.

Synonyms

• Grating: Irritating or unpleasant to hear.
• Jarring: Incongruous in a striking or shocking way.
• Offensive: Causing someone to feel deeply hurt, upset, or angry.
• Unseemly: (Of behavior or actions) not proper or appropriate.

Related Idioms

• Chướng tai gai mắt: As detailed above, this is the primary and most common idiom associated with "chướng tai." It emphasizes something that is broadly offensive to one's senses or sensibilities.

1. Unpalatable, unacceptable
   • chướng tai gai mắt
     objectionable, unseemly
   • những việc chướng tai gai mắt
     objectionable deeds