Definition

1. Adjective phrase:
   • Not smooth, not going easily, encountering difficulties: "khó trôi" describes a situation, process, or task that does not proceed smoothly or easily, often facing obstacles and complications.

Usage Examples

• Adjective phrase:
  • Công việc này khó trôi vì thiếu ngân sách. (This work is not going smoothly because of a lack of budget.)
  • Cuộc đàm phán có vẻ khó trôi. (The negotiation seems to be encountering difficulties.)
  • Mọi việc khó trôi hơn chúng tôi dự tính. (Everything is proceeding less smoothly than we anticipated.)

Advanced Usage

• "làm cho khó trôi": to make something difficult, to complicate a process.
  • Những quy định mới làm cho dự án khó trôi hơn. (The new regulations are making the project more difficult to proceed.)
• "cảm thấy khó trôi": to feel that something is not progressing well.
  • Anh ấy cảm thấy mọi chuyện khó trôi từ đầu. (He felt that things were not going smoothly from the start.)

Variants and Related Words

• Trôi chảy (adj): smooth, fluent (antonym).
  • Mong rằng công việc sẽ trôi chảy. (I hope the work will go smoothly.)
• Trắc trở (adj/n): troubled, fraught with difficulties.
  • Con đường phía trước còn nhiều trắc trở. (The road ahead is still fraught with difficulties.)

Synonyms

• Khó khăn: difficult, hard.
• Gặp trở ngại: to encounter obstacles.
• Không suôn sẻ: not smooth, not going well.

Related Phrases

• "Khó trôi như đá" (idiomatic simile): as difficult as moving a rock; extremely difficult to proceed.
  • Việc xin giấy phép khó trôi như đá. (Getting the permit is extremely difficult.)
• "Để mọi việc trôi cho" (contrasting phrase): to let things run their (smooth) course.
  • Đừng can thiệp, cứ để mọi việc trôi cho. (Don't interfere, just let things run their course.)

1. No plain sailing, not smoothly going
   • Việc ấy khó trôi lắm
     That business is no plain sailing