Definition

1. Noun:
   • Empty words, lip service: Refers to words spoken without genuine intention or sincerity, often used to console or placate someone superficially.
   • Verbal formality: Indicates speech that is merely a formality, lacking substantive action or true commitment behind it.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Anh ấy chỉ hứa khẩu đầu thôi, đừng tin. (He only made an empty promise, don't believe it.)
  • Lời an ủi khẩu đầu của cô ấy chẳng giúp được gì. (Her lip-service consolation didn't help at all.)
  • Đó chỉ là những lời khẩu đầu để xoa dịu dư luận. (Those are just empty words to placate public opinion.)

Advanced Usage

• "chỉ là khẩu đầu": to be merely lip service.
  • Lời hứa cải thiện môi trường của họ chỉ là khẩu đầu. (Their promise to improve the environment is merely lip service.)
• "hứa khẩu đầu": to make an empty promise.
  • Anh ta thường hứa khẩu đầu rồi chẳng làm gì cả. (He often makes empty promises and then does nothing.)

Variants and Related Words

• Khẩu hiệu (n): Slogan, motto. (Note: This is a related but distinct compound word meaning a formal phrase or call to action.)
• Đầu môi (n): Tip of the tongue; can be used in a similar figurative sense for something said lightly or without deep thought.
  • Lời nói đầu môi. (Words spoken lightly.)

Synonyms

• Lời nói suông: Empty talk, idle words.
• Lời hứa hão: False promise, hollow promise.
• Nói cho có: To say something just for the sake of saying it.

Related Phrases

• Khẩu Phật tâm xà: (Idiom) "Mouth of Buddha, heart of a snake"; meaning to speak kindly but harbor malicious intent. This shares the concept of insincere speech but is more severe.
• Nói một đàng làm một nẻo: (Idiom) To say one thing and do another; highlights the disconnect between words and actions, related to the insincerity of .

Notes on Meaning

• The term strongly implies a disconnect between speech and genuine feeling or future action. It criticizes the act of speaking without the intent to follow through or to truly mean what is said.
• It is often used in contexts of consolation, promises, apologies, or political speech where sincerity is questioned.