Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Shrewish; impudent; brazen: Used primarily to describe a woman's behavior or attitude as aggressively rude, defiantly disrespectful, or provocatively insolent. It implies a lack of proper decorum and an offensive boldness.
   • Aggressively cheeky; provocatively insolent: Conveys a combination of aggression and shamelessness, often in a confrontational or challenging manner.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Làm gì mà cong cớn thế? (Why are you being so shrewish and impudent?)
  • Cô ấy có thái độ rất cong cớn với cấp trên. (She has a very brazen attitude toward her superiors.)
  • Bộ mặt cong cớn. (A provocatively insolent face.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is almost exclusively applied to women and carries a strong negative judgment about gender-appropriate behavior, criticizing a woman for being unacceptably aggressive or defiant.
• It can describe not just personality but also a specific momentary expression, gesture, or tone of voice that is seen as insolent and challenging.

Variants and Related Words

• Cựa cựa: (adj) to be argumentative, to talk back. This is related but generally less intense than "cong cớn."
• Hỗn xược / xấc xược: (adj) insolent, impudent. These are more general synonyms not specifically gendered.

Synonyms

• Shrewish: (of a woman) ill-tempered and aggressively assertive.
• Brazen: bold and without shame.
• Impudent: not showing due respect for another person; impertinent.
• Insolent: showing a rude and arrogant lack of respect.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• While "cong cớn" itself is not typically part of a fixed idiom, the behavior it describes might be referenced in phrases like:
  • Thái độ cong cớn khó chịu. (An insolently annoying attitude.)

adj

1. Shrewish (đàn bà)