Definition

1. Verb:

   • To nag / to scold persistently: To complain or find fault in an annoying, repetitive, and often high-pitched manner.
   • To make a din / to clamor: To create a loud, confused, and irritating noise, often from many people talking or arguing at once.

2. Adjective:

   • Noisy and quarrelsome: Describing a situation or atmosphere filled with loud, contentious, and irritating sounds, typically from arguments or complaints.

Usage Examples

• Verb:

  • Họ eo sèo về giá cả suốt buổi sáng. (They haggled noisily about the price all morning.)
  • Đừng eo sèo nữa, tôi đang bận. (Stop nagging, I'm busy.)

• Adjective:

  • Quán ăn trở nên thật eo sèo vào giờ trưa. (The eatery becomes really noisy and quarrelsome at lunchtime.)
  • Một cuộc tranh cãi eo sèo. (A noisy, squabbling argument.)

Advanced Usage

• The word often implies a sense of petty, irritating conflict or complaint, not serious anger. It frequently describes domestic squabbles, market haggling, or trivial public disputes.

Variants and Related Words

• Eo óc (verb): An older, near-synonym meaning to make a shrill, annoying noise or to nag.
• Cãi vã (verb): To argue or quarrel, but without the specific connotation of shrill, nagging noise that "eo sèo" carries.

Synonyms

• Nag: To annoy by constant fault-finding or complaints.
• Squabble: To engage in a petty, noisy quarrel.
• Clamor: A loud and confused noise, especially of people shouting.
• Bicker: To argue about petty, trivial matters.

Related Idioms

• Eo sèo mặt nước buổi đò đông: A literary phrase describing the noisy, clamorous scene at a crowded ferry crossing, used metaphorically for any chaotic and contentious situation.
  • Hội nghị giống như cảnh eo sèo mặt nước buổi đò đông. (The conference was like the noisy scene at a crowded ferry crossing.)

1. Harp on scold
   • Lấy phải bà vợ cư eo sèo suốt ngày
     To have married a woman who keeps scolding (nagging) the whole day
2. Raise a din