Definition

1. Intransitive Verb:
   • To lament, to bewail, to complain: To express grief, sorrow, or discontent, often in a persistent, vocal, or plaintive manner.
   • To grumble, to whine: To express petty complaints or dissatisfaction in a nagging or whining tone.

Usage Examples

• Intransitive Verb:
  • Anh ấy chỉ biết ngồi đó mà kêu rêu về số phận. (He just sits there lamenting his fate.)
  • Đừng có kêu rêu nữa, hãy bắt tay vào làm việc đi. (Stop grumbling and start working.)
  • Cô ấy kêu rêu cả ngày vì thời tiết nóng bức. (She whined all day about the hot weather.)

Advanced Usage

• Used to describe persistent, often ineffective complaining: The word often carries a nuance of complaining without taking constructive action to solve the problem. It can imply that the complaints are somewhat tiresome or excessive.
  • Kêu rêu suốt ngày thì có giải quyết được gì đâu. (Grumbling all day won't solve anything.)

Variants and Related Words

• Than phiền (v): To complain, to lament. (More formal/neutral than "kêu rêu").
• Ca thán (v): To lament, to bemoan. (Often with a poetic or literary tone).
• Càu nhàu (v): To grumble, to mutter in discontent. (Similar to "kêu rêu" but can be quieter or more muttered).

Synonyms

• Lament (v): To express passionate grief or sorrow.
• Bewail (v): To express great regret, sadness, or disappointment over something.
• Grumble (v): To complain in a bad-tempered but typically muted way.
• Whine (v): To complain in a feeble or petulant way.

Related Phrases

• "Kêu rêu than phiền": A common paired phrase emphasizing the act of lamenting and complaining.
  • Cả ngày anh ta chỉ kêu rêu than phiền mà chẳng chịu làm gì. (All day he just laments and complains without doing anything.)

Related Idioms

• "Kêu như cha đẻ chết": (To wail/cry as if one's father died). An idiom describing excessive, dramatic lamenting. While not using "kêu rêu" directly, it describes a similar, but more intense, concept of vocal grieving/complaining.
  • Chuyện nhỏ mà kêu như cha đẻ chết. (Making a huge fuss over a small matter.)

1. Lament, bewail