Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Half-full, neither full nor empty: Describes a state where something (typically a container, stomach, or level) is partially filled, not reaching full capacity but not being empty either. It often implies a moderate, intermediate, or unsatisfactory level.
   • Half-hearted, lukewarm, indecisive: Can describe an attitude, feeling, or state that is not strong, clear, or committed; it is tepid or ambiguous.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Bụng tôi chỉ mới lưng lửng thôi, có thể ăn thêm chút bánh. (My stomach is only half-full, I can eat a little more cake.)
  • Anh ta uống lưng lửng một ly nước rồi đặt xuống. (He drank a half-glass of water and put it down.)
  • Cảm xúc của cô ấy về chuyến đi chỉ lưng lửng, không thật sự hào hứng. (Her feelings about the trip are only lukewarm, not truly excited.)
  • Mực nước trong hồ ở mức lưng lửng sau trận hạn hán. (The water level in the lake is at a middling level after the drought.)

Advanced Usage

• "lưng lửng dạ": Having a half-full stomach, not completely satisfied after eating.
  • Ăn tô mì lưng lửng dạ rồi đi làm. (I ate a bowl of noodles to half-fill my stomach and then went to work.)
• Used to describe an unsatisfactory or incomplete state that leaves one wanting more or feeling unresolved.
  • Công việc làm lưng lửng như vậy thì không ổn. (Doing work in such a half-hearted / incomplete manner is not okay.)

Variants and Related Words

• lửng (adj): The root word, meaning suspended, hanging, or at a middling point. "Lưng lửng" is a reduplicative form (từ láy) of "lửng," intensifying the sense of being in-between.
  • Nó đứng lửng ở giữa cầu thang. (He stood suspended in the middle of the staircase.)
• nửa vời (adj): Halfway, superficial, not thorough. A close synonym for the abstract sense of "lưng lửng."
  • thái độ nửa vời (a half-hearted attitude)

Synonyms

• nửa chừng (adv/adj): Halfway, midway (often used for actions stopped in the middle).
• ấp a ấp úng (adj): Hesitant, faltering (specifically for speech, but shares the indecisive quality).
• lờ mờ (adj): Vague, unclear (for ideas or feelings).

Related Idioms

• Làm lưng lửng: To do something half-heartedly or incompletely.
  • Đừng làm lưng lửng, hãy làm cho xong việc. (Don't do it half-way, finish the job.)
• Ăn lưng lửng bụng: To eat just enough to take the edge off hunger.
  • Tôi chỉ ăn lưng lửng bụng trước buổi họp. (I just ate a little to curb my hunger before the meeting.)

1. xem lửng (láy)