Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Hard to deal with, difficult to get along with: Describes a person whose personality, attitude, or behavior is unpleasant, making social interaction or friendship challenging. It implies being unsociable, unfriendly, or having bad character traits.
   • Uncooperative, intractable: Suggests a person who is stubborn, not easy to persuade, or unwilling to follow social norms in a group.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Anh ta nổi tiếng là người rất khó chơi. (He is known as a very hard-to-deal-with person.)
  • Tính nó khó chơi nên chẳng có mấy bạn. (His personality is difficult to get along with, so he doesn't have many friends.)
  • Đừng có khó chơi như vậy, mọi người đang cố gắng hợp tác mà. (Don't be so uncooperative; everyone is trying to cooperate.)

Advanced Usage

• Often used in informal, conversational contexts to describe someone's social demeanor. It carries a negative judgment about a person's character.
• Can be used directly to address someone's behavior in a reproachful manner, as in the third example above.

Variants and Related Words

• Khó tính (adj): Hard to please, picky, fussy. (Focuses more on being demanding or hard to satisfy than on being unsociable.)
• Khó gần (adj): Hard to approach, distant, aloof. (Emphasizes difficulty in initiating contact or friendship.)
• Cáu kỉnh (adj): Irritable, grumpy. (Focuses on a bad-tempered, easily annoyed nature.)

Synonyms

• Insociable / Unsociable: Not inclined to seek or enjoy the company of others.
• Intractable: Hard to control or deal with; stubborn.
• Unfriendly: Not friendly.
• Hard to get along with: A direct descriptive phrase in English.

Related Phrases / Idioms

• Ăn ở khó chơi: To behave in a difficult, unfriendly manner. This phrase combines "ăn ở" (way of living/behaving) with "khó chơi" to emphasize one's overall conduct.
  • Cách ăn ở khó chơi ấy khiến anh ta bị cô lập. (That difficult manner of behavior caused him to be isolated.)

1. Hard to deal with
   • Con người khó chơi, chả ai muốn kết bạn cùng
     No one wants to make friends with a person hard to deal with