Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Hard to hear or understand: Describes sounds, speech, or music that is difficult to perceive clearly or comprehend due to low volume, poor quality, or other auditory interference.
   • Unpleasant to hear; unpalatable: Describes words, statements, opinions, or truths that are offensive, harsh, unacceptable, or difficult to accept emotionally.

Usage Examples

• Adjective (Hard to hear/understand):

  • Tiếng ồn xung quanh quá lớn, giọng cô ấy khó nghe. (The surrounding noise is too loud, her voice is hard to hear.)
  • Bản ghi âm chất lượng khém nên khó nghe. (The recording is of poor quality so it's hard to understand.)

• Adjective (Unpleasant/Unacceptable):

  • Lời phê bình của anh ta thật khó nghe. (His criticism is very harsh/unpleasant to hear.)
  • Sự thật đôi khi rất khó nghe. (The truth is sometimes very hard to accept.)

Advanced Usage

• "Nói *khó nghe"*: To speak in an unpleasant, offensive, or harsh manner.

  • Đừng nói khó nghe như vậy với bạn bè. (Don't speak so harshly/offensively to your friends.)

• Used to describe abstract concepts: Can describe ideas, arguments, or proposals that are logically flawed or morally unacceptable.

  • Lập luận đó nghe thật khó nghe và phi lý. (That argument sounds very unacceptable and illogical.)

Variants and Related Words

• Khó chịu (adj): Unpleasant, uncomfortable, annoying. (Often used for a general feeling of discomfort, which can be physical or emotional, and can overlap with the emotional sense of "khó nghe".)
• Chướng tai (adj): Offensive to the ear, grating. (A stronger, more literary synonym for the "unpleasant" sense, often found in the compound "chướng tai gai mắt".)

Synonyms

• Khó hiểu: Hard to understand. (Specifically for the comprehension aspect.)
• Nghịch nhĩ: Harsh to the ear, disagreeable to hear. (A more formal/literary synonym for the unpleasant sense.)

Related Phrases

• "Nghe *khó nghe"*: To hear something unpleasant/unacceptable.
  • Tôi nghe khó nghe lắm khi anh nói vậy. (I find it very unpleasant/unacceptable when you say that.)

Related Idioms

• "Nói ngọt *dễ nghe, nói thật mất lòng"* (Proverb): Speaking sweetly is easy to hear, speaking the truth loses favor. (This proverb contrasts pleasant but potentially insincere speech ("dễ nghe") with unpleasant but honest speech, relating to the second meaning of "khó nghe".)

1. Hard to understand, nearly unitelligible, hardly intelligble
   • Nói nhỏ quá khó nghe
     He speaks too softy so he is hard to understand
2. Unpalatable, unacceptable
   • Những lý lẽ của hắn khó nghe lắm
     His arguments are quite unacceptable