làm kêu
Definition
- Verb:
- To act arrogantly, to put on airs: To behave in a superior or haughty manner, often to impress others or to assert one's perceived higher status.
- To be pretentious: To affect a greater importance, talent, culture, or style than is actually possessed.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Cô ấy không có gì đặc biệt nhưng lúc nào cũng làm kêu. (She's nothing special but she's always putting on airs.)
- Anh ta làm kêu vì mới mua được chiếc xe hơi đắt tiền. (He's acting arrogantly because he just bought an expensive car.)
- Đừng có làm kêu với bạn bè như thế. (Don't be so pretentious with your friends like that.)
Advanced Usage
- "làm kêu làm kiểu": To act in an affected, showy, or overly mannered way.
- Cô diễn viên đó lúc nào cũng làm kêu làm kiểu trước mặt công chúng. (That actress is always acting in an affected way in front of the public.)
Variants and Related Words
- Làm cao (verb): A direct synonym, meaning to act high and mighty, to be haughty.
- Làm cao is often used interchangeably with làm kêu.
- Kiêu kỳ (adj): Arrogant, haughty (describing a characteristic).
- Kênh kiệu (adj): Putting on airs, acting stuck-up.
Synonyms
- Tỏ vẻ ta đây: To show off, to act as if one is superior.
- Lên mặt: To put on airs, to act superior (often used in a disapproving tone).
- Ra vẻ: To affect a manner, to put on a show (can be used for various affects, including arrogance).
Related Phrases
- Ăn nói làm kêu: To speak in a pretentious or affected manner.
- Cô ấy ăn nói làm kêu khiến mọi người khó chịu. (Her pretentious way of speaking makes people uncomfortable.)
Related Idioms
- Làm bộ làm tịch: To put on an act, to feign (often implies pretending to be something one is not, which overlaps with the pretentiousness of ).
- Anh ta cứ làm bộ làm tịch như một chuyên gia. (He keeps putting on an act as if he were an expert.)