Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Unruly, wayward: Describes a person, typically a young person, who behaves in a wild, undisciplined, or disobedient manner, often causing trouble or annoyance.
   • Dissipated, rowdy: Refers to a lifestyle or behavior characterized by a lack of restraint, often involving mischief, frivolity, or reckless conduct.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Giáo dục những thanh niên càn quấy. (To take in hand unruly youths.)
  • Bọn trẻ trong xóm khá càn quấy. (The kids in the neighborhood are quite rowdy.)
  • Nó có vẻ ngoài hiền lành nhưng tính cách rất càn quấy. (He looks gentle but has a very wayward personality.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "càn quấy" is primarily used in spoken language (khẩu ngữ) and carries a strong colloquial tone. It often implies a judgmental or disapproving view of the subject's behavior.

Variants and Related Words

• Càn (adj/verb): Can mean to act recklessly, stubbornly, or to talk nonsense. It is a root that contributes to the meaning of "càn quấy".
• Quậy (verb, colloquial): To act up, to cause a disturbance, to be rowdy. This is a common southern Vietnamese synonym for the behavior described by "càn quấy".

Synonyms

• Unruly: Difficult to control or discipline.
• Wayward: Difficult to control or predict because of willful or perverse behavior.
• Rowdy: Noisy and disorderly.
• Mischievous: Causing or showing a fondness for playful trouble.

Related Idioms

• While "càn quấy" itself is not typically part of a fixed idiom, the behavior it describes is central to phrases like:
  • Nghịch như quỷ: (To be) mischievous like a devil.
  • Bướng bỉnh và ngỗ ngược: Stubborn and insolent.

khẩu ngữ

1. Unruly, wayward
   • giáo dục những thanh niên càn quấy
     to take in hand unruly youths