Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Skilled / Proficient: Having a high degree of competence, expertise, and experience in a specific trade, craft, or profession. It implies not only knowledge but also reliable, high-quality execution.
   • Qualified / Expert: Possessing the necessary training, ability, and finesse to perform specialized work to a professional standard.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Anh ấy là một thợ mộc rất lành nghề. (He is a very skilled carpenter.)
  • Cô ấy phẫu thuật một cách lành nghề. (She performed the surgery expertly.)
  • Chúng tôi cần tuyển những công nhân lành nghề. (We need to hire qualified workers.)

Advanced Usage

• The term often implies a contrast with "thợ vụng" (clumsy or unskilled worker) or "thợ mới" (new/inexperienced worker).
• It can describe not just people but also the quality of work: (skilled hands), (skilled work).

Variants and Related Words

• Thành thạo (adj): proficient, adept. Often used interchangeably with , but can apply more broadly to skills (e.g., languages, software), while is more specific to trades and professions.
• Điêu luyện (adj): masterful, highly skilled with an artistic or refined nuance.
• Chuyên môn cao (phrase): having high specialization.

Synonyms

• Skilled: Having the abilities needed to do something well.
• Expert: Having or involving great knowledge or skill.
• Proficient: Competent or skilled in doing something.
• Qualified: Officially recognized as being trained to perform a particular job.

Antonyms

• Unskilled: Not having or requiring special skill or training.
• Inexperienced: Having little knowledge or experience of a particular thing.
• Amateur: Engaging in an activity without competence or skill.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• "Lành nghề tay trái": Skilled in a secondary trade or side job.
  • Ông là giáo viên nhưng sửa xe máy cũng lành nghề tay trái. (He is a teacher but is also skilled at fixing motorbikes as a side job.)
• "Con mắt lành nghề": The discerning eye of an expert.
  • Với con mắt lành nghề, người thợ cả phát hiện lỗi nhỏ. (With an expert's eye, the foreman detected the minor flaw.)