Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Unfinished, incomplete, half-done: Describes a task, project, or object that has been started but not brought to a proper conclusion or completion.
   • Inconclusive, unresolved: Describes a situation, relationship, or affair that lacks a clear or definitive ending, often leaving matters unsettled.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Công việc này vẫn còn dở dang. (This work is still unfinished.)
  • Họ để lại một bức tranh dở dang. (They left behind an unfinished painting.)
  • Câu chuyện của họ kết thúc một cách dở dang. (Their story ended inconclusively.)

Advanced Usage

• "để dở dang": to leave unfinished, to leave incomplete.
  • Anh ấy để dở dang bản báo cáo rồi về nhà. (He left the report unfinished and went home.)
• "tình cảm dở dang": an unresolved/unrequited affection.
  • Mối tình cảm dở dang ấy ám ảnh cô nhiều năm. (That unresolved affection haunted her for many years.)

Variants and Related Words

• Dở (adj): Can mean "bad" (as in taste) or "unfinished" (as part of a compound). When used alone for "unfinished," it is often in the context of stopping an action.
  • Ăn dở bữa. (To leave a meal half-eaten/unfinished.)
• Bỏ dở (phrasal verb): to abandon, to leave something incomplete.
  • Cô ấy bỏ dở việc học. (She dropped out of school / left her studies unfinished.)
• Dang dở (adj): This is a near-synonym and variant form of "dở dang," with identical meaning.
  • Một ước mơ dang dở. (An unfulfilled dream.)

Synonyms

• Chưa xong: not yet done, not finished.
• Chưa hoàn thành: not yet completed.
• Nửa vời: half-hearted, half-done (often implies a lack of seriousness or commitment).

Related Phrases

• Công việc dở dang: unfinished business/work.
• Mối tình dở dang: an inconclusive/unfinished love affair.
• Dự án dở dang: an incomplete/abandoned project.

Notes on Meaning

• The word strongly conveys a sense of interruption and incompleteness. It often carries a negative or regretful connotation, suggesting that something was left in an unsatisfactory state.
• It can describe both tangible things (a building, a meal) and intangible things (a plan, a relationship).

1. Unfinished uncompleted, halfdone, inconclusive
   • Công việc đang dở dang
     An unfinished piece of work
   • Mối tình dở dang
     An inconclusive love affair