lém lém

Lửa cháy lém lém vào đống rạ.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Barely covered / slightly protruding: Describes something that is only just covered, or something that sticks out or shows slightly from its surroundings. Often implies a thin or incomplete layer.
   • Glimmering / flickering faintly: Describes a weak, unsteady light, like a small flame that is barely burning.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Cái răng khểnh của cô ấy nhô lên lém lém. (Her snaggletooth protrudes slightly.)
  • Ngọn lửa lém lém trong gió. (The flame flickered faintly in the wind.)
  • Nước mắm chỉ đổ lém lém trên mặt cá. (The fish sauce was poured, just barely covering the surface of the fish.)

Advanced Usage

• This word is often used in a descriptive, almost onomatopoeic way to create a vivid image of something being scant, minimal, or barely there. It is more common in literary or descriptive spoken language than in formal writing.

Variants and Related Words

• Lém (adj): A shorter, more colloquial form with a similar meaning of being scant, thin, or slightly protruding.
  • Cười hở lợi lém. (To smile, showing a sliver of gums.)

Synonyms

• Barely: by a very small margin.
• Faintly: in a way that is barely perceptible.
• Slightly: to a small degree.

Related Idioms

• Nói lém lém: To speak in a sly, insinuating, or slightly impertinent manner. This idiom extends the core idea of something being "just showing" to mean speech that is subtly cheeky or suggestive.
  • Đừng có nói lém lém với người lớn. (Don't speak impertinently to your elders.)