Definition

1. Verb (transitive):
   • To look down upon; to despise; to regard with contempt: To consider someone or something as inferior, unimportant, or of little value.
   • To disregard; to treat lightly: To not give proper attention, respect, or seriousness to someone or something.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Anh ta coi rẻ ý kiến của đồng nghiệp. (He looks down upon his colleagues' opinions.)
  • Đừng bao giờ coi rẻ sức khỏe của bạn. (Never treat your health lightly.)
  • Họ coi rẻ luật pháp. (They disregard the law.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase often implies an attitude of arrogance or superiority from the subject towards the object.
• It can be used in both personal contexts (e.g., disrespecting a person) and abstract contexts (e.g., disregarding rules, principles, or health).

Variants and Related Words

• Khinh rẻ (v): To scorn, to despise; often carries a stronger, more explicit connotation of contempt than "coi rẻ."

  • Hắn khinh rẻ những người nghèo. (He scorns the poor.)

• Xem thường (v): To look down on, to belittle; a very close synonym to "coi rẻ."

  • Cô ấy cảm thấy bị xem thường. (She felt looked down upon.)

Synonyms

• Despise: To feel a strong dislike and lack of respect for someone/something.
• Look down on: To consider oneself superior to someone else.
• Disregard: To pay no attention to; to ignore.
• Belittle: To make someone or something seem less impressive or important.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Coi rẻ mạng người: To disregard human life; to treat human life as cheap or expendable.

  • Hành động đó chứng tỏ họ coi rẻ mạng người. (That action proves they disregard human life.)

• Coi rẻ danh dự: To treat honor/reputation lightly; to not value one's good name.

  • Anh đừng có coi rẻ danh dự của gia đình. (Don't you treat the family's honor lightly.)

1. To regard as of little value