Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Scattered, sparse: Describes things or people that are few in number, spread out over an area, and not concentrated in one place. It emphasizes a lack of density, uniformity, or organization.
   • Occasional, sporadic: Refers to events or actions that happen infrequently, at irregular intervals, and not in a continuous or steady manner.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Mới lẻ tẻ có mấy người đến. (Only a few scattered people have arrived.)
  • Đêm về khuya phố xá chỉ còn lẻ tẻ vài người đi lại. (Late at night, only a few sparse people are still moving about on the streets.)
  • Lúa bắt đầu chín lẻ tẻ. (The rice is beginning to ripen sporadically.)
  • Tiếng súng vang lên lẻ tẻ. (Gunshots rang out sporadically.)

Advanced Usage

• Used to describe a pattern that is the opposite of being massed, continuous, or uniform. It often conveys a sense of thin distribution or irregular occurrence.

Variants and Related Words

• Lác đác (adj): Another adjective meaning scattered or sparse, often used interchangeably with "lẻ tẻ" but can sometimes imply a slightly more random or dotted pattern.
• Rải rác (adj): Scattered, dispersed. Similar to "lẻ tẻ" but can sometimes suggest a wider or more even distribution over a larger area.

Synonyms

• Scattered: Distributed loosely and unevenly.
• Sparse: Thinly dispersed or scattered.
• Sporadic: Occurring at irregular intervals; not constant.
• Occasional: Happening from time to time.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Lẻ tẻ từng người: Coming one by one, in ones and twos.
  • Khách vào hội trường lẻ tẻ từng người. (Guests entered the hall in ones and twos.)
• Mua bán lẻ tẻ: To buy or sell in small, scattered quantities (not in bulk).
  • Họ chỉ mua bán lẻ tẻ chứ không nhập số lượng lớn. (They only buy and sell in small, scattered quantities, not in large bulk.)

adj

1. scattered, sparse