Definition

1. Adjective/Adverbial phrase:
   • Palavering, rambling, long-winded: Used to describe speech or storytelling that is excessively long, digressive, and often trivial or without a clear point. It implies talking at length in a disconnected or tedious manner.
   • Discursive, going off on tangents: Describes a manner of speaking that jumps from one unrelated topic to another, like "from the rooster to the donkey."

Usage Examples

• Adjective/Adverbial phrase:
  • Anh ấy nói cà kê mãi về chuyện cũ. (He kept palavering on and on about old stories.)
  • Họ ngồi cà kê suốt cả buổi sáng mà không giải quyết được việc gì. (They spent the whole morning in rambling talk without resolving anything.)
  • Đừng kể chuyện con cà con kê nữa. (Stop telling one long, rambling yarn after another.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase often functions as an adverbial modifier following verbs like "nói" (to speak), "kể" (to tell), or "ngồi" (to sit [and talk]).
• It carries a mildly negative connotation, suggesting the speech is unproductive, boring, or unnecessarily prolonged.

Variants and Related Words

• Con cà con kê: This is a strengthened, more vivid reduplicative form of "cà kê," used identically to mean telling endless, rambling stories.
  • Câu chuyện của bà ấy toàn là con cà con kê. (Her story was just one long, rambling yarn.)

Synonyms

• To ramble: To talk at length in a confused or inconsequential way.
• To digress: To stray from the main topic.
• Long-winded: Using or containing too many words.
• Palaver: Profuse, idle, or prolonged talk.

Related Idioms

• Nói dông dài / Nói dài dòng: To speak verbosely or at great length. This is a close synonym but may lack the specific connotation of jumping between unrelated topics inherent in "cà kê."
• Chuyện trên trời dưới đất: Literally "stories from the sky and the earth," meaning talk about all sorts of far-fetched or miscellaneous things. This shares the discursive nature of "cà kê."

adj

1. Palaverting, telling a long yarn
   • nói cà kê mãi
     to tell a very long yarn
   • ngồi cà kê suốt cả buổi sáng
     to spend a whole morning palaverting
   • kể chuyện con cà con kê
     to tell one long yarn after another