Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Scattered; sparse: Describes things or people that are few in number and spread out over an area, not close together.
   • Sporadic; intermittent: Describes actions or events that happen occasionally and at irregular intervals.

2. Adverb:

   • Sparsely; here and there: Used to describe how something occurs or is distributed in a scattered manner.
   • In drips and drops; one by one: Used to describe something falling or appearing slowly and individually.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Dân cư lác đác. (The population is sparse.)
  • Có những phản ứng lác đác. (There were sporadic reactions.)
• Adverb:
  • Mưa rơi lác đác xuống đường. (The rain fell sparsely on the street.)
  • Lá rụng lác đác. (Leaves fell one by one.)

Advanced Usage

• "lác đác vài...": a scattered few...
  • Trên đồi lác đác vài cây thông. (On the hill, there are a scattered few pine trees.)

Variants and Related Words

• Thưa thớt (adj): sparse, thinly scattered. This is a close synonym, often used interchangeably with .
  • Ngôi làng thưa thớt bóng người. (The village was sparse with people.)

Synonyms

• Scattered
• Sparse
• Sporadic
• Intermittent

Related Idioms

• Lác đác như sao buổi sớm: (As sparse as stars at dawn) – A poetic way to describe something very scarce or thinly distributed.
  • Những ngôi nhà lác đác như sao buổi sớm. (The houses were as sparse as stars at dawn.)

adj

1. scattered; spattered
   • mưa rơi lác đác xuống đường
     The rain spattered down on streets