Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Slow to pay debts, deliberately delaying repayment: Describes a person who owes money or something else and intentionally postpones returning or paying it back, often through evasion or excuses.
   • Procrastinating in fulfilling obligations: Refers to someone who drags their feet and uses delaying tactics to avoid settling a debt or responsibility.

2. Noun:

   • A person who is slow to pay debts: Used to label someone who has the habit of being tardy or evasive about repaying what they owe.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • Anh ta rất cù nhầy, nợ tiền đã lâu mà chưa chịu trả. (He is very cù nhầy; he has owed money for a long time and still hasn't paid it back.)
  • Đừng có cù nhầy, trả sách cho tôi ngay đi! (Don't be cù nhầy; give my book back right now!)

• Noun:

  • Hắn là một tay cù nhầy nổi tiếng trong xóm. (He is a famous cù nhầy in the neighborhood.)
  • Tôi không muốn cho mượn tiền vì sợ gặp phải kẻ cù nhầy. (I don't want to lend money because I'm afraid of encountering a cù nhầy.)

Advanced Usage

• "tính cù nhầy": The characteristic of being slow to repay.

  • Tính cù nhầy của anh ấy khiến mọi người mất lòng tin. (His tính cù nhầy makes everyone lose trust.)

• "thói cù nhầy": The bad habit of delaying payment.

  • Anh phải bỏ ngay thói cù nhầy đó đi. (You must drop that thói cù nhầy right away.)

Variants and Related Words

• Chây ì (adj, informal): Similar meaning, describing someone who is sluggish, evasive, or deliberately slow in action, especially in paying debts or fulfilling duties.

  • Nó chây ì không chịu trả nợ. (He is chây ì and refuses to pay the debt.)

• Ỳ (verb, in combination): To procrastinate, to delay. Often used in compounds like "ỳ ra" (to stall).

  • Nó cứ ỳ ra không chịu giải quyết. (He just keeps stalling and won't resolve it.)

Synonyms

• Chậm trả: Slow to pay/return.
• Trì hoãn việc trả nợ: To delay debt repayment.

Related Phrases/Idioms

• "Vờ quên": To pretend to forget (a common tactic of a cù nhầy person).

  • Hắn cứ vờ quên chuyện nợ nần. (He just keeps pretending to forget about the debt.)

• "Lần lữa": To dawdle, to procrastinate (describes the delaying action).

  • Suốt ngày chỉ biết lần lữa việc trả tiền. (All day long, he only knows how to dawdle about paying the money.)