Definition

1. Adverb:
   • Slowly, in a dragging or dawdling manner: "chề chà" describes an action performed with deliberate slowness, often implying a lack of urgency or a tendency to linger or waste time.

Usage Examples

• Adverb:
  • Anh ấy đi chề chà cả tiếng đồng hồ mới đến. (He walked slowly and dawdling for a whole hour before arriving.)
  • Đừng làm việc chề chà như vậy, chúng ta sắp hết giờ rồi. (Don't work so slowly and dilly-dallyingly like that, we're almost out of time.)

Advanced Usage

• "chề chà chệ chạ": An intensified reduplicative form emphasizing an even more sluggish, dragging, or procrastinating manner.
  • Nó cứ chề chà chệ chạ mãi không chịu ra khỏi nhà. (He kept dawdling and dragging his feet and wouldn't leave the house.)

Variants and Related Words

• Chầm chậm (adv): Slowly, at a low speed (neutral or descriptive, less negative than "chề chà").
• Lề mề (adj/adv): Slow, sluggish, tardy (often describes a person's character or pace, similar in negative connotation).

Synonyms

• Lững thững: Sauntering, strolling slowly.
• Ỳ ạch: Moving with great difficulty and slowness (often due to heaviness).

Related Phrases

• Đi đứng chề chà: To walk or move in a slow, dawdling manner.
  • Cậu bé đi đứng chề chà trên đường về nhà. (The boy walked in a slow, dawdling manner on his way home.)

Related Idioms

• Chần chừ chề chà: To hesitate and dawdle; to procrastinate.
  • Công việc sẽ không xong nếu cậu cứ chần chừ chề chà. (The work won't be finished if you keep hesitating and dawdling.)