chẻo miệng
Definition
- Adjective:
- Glib, insincerely talkative: Describes a person who speaks fluently and volubly but whose words lack sincerity, depth, or genuine intent. The speech is often smooth and persuasive on the surface but is considered shallow or untrustworthy.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Anh ta rất chẻo miệng khi hứa hẹn, nhưng chẳng bao giờ giữ lời. (He is very glib when making promises, but never keeps them.)
- Đừng tin những lời chẻo miệng của kẻ bán hàng rong đó. (Don't believe the smooth but insincere talk of that street vendor.)
Advanced Usage
- Used to describe a characteristic style of communication: The term often implies a critical or disapproving view of the speaker's character, suggesting they are manipulative or dishonest through speech.
- Bản chất chẻo miệng của hắn khiến không ai trong công ty thực sự tin tưởng. (His glib-talking nature makes no one in the company truly trust him.)
Variants and Related Words
- Chẻo (verb, colloquial): To chatter, to talk a lot, often with a negative connotation of being annoying or insincere. "Chẻo miệng" is a more specific adjectival form.
- Khéo mồm (adjective): Another colloquial term with a similar meaning of being slick-tongued or glib, though sometimes it can imply cleverness in speech without the strong negative connotation of insincerity.
- Ba hoa (verb/adjective): To boast, to talk big, to babble. This emphasizes empty, boastful talk rather than specifically insincere fluency.
Synonyms
- Glib: Fluent and voluble but insincere and shallow. (Closest direct synonym)
- Slick-tongued: Speaking in a smoothly persuasive but often deceitful way.
- Silver-tongued: Often used positively for eloquent speech, but in this critical context, it can imply deceptive eloquence.
Related Idioms
- Chẻo miệng như bồ câu gù: (To chatter/talk glibly like a cooing dove) An idiom emphasizing the voluble, smooth, but ultimately empty or insincere nature of the speech.
- Hắn ta thuyết phục khách hàng bằng những lời chẻo miệng như bồ câu gù. (He persuades customers with words as glib as a dove's coo.)