lết bết
Definition
- Adjective/Adverb (descriptive compound):
- To drag on and on / to proceed sluggishly: Describes an action, process, or situation that progresses very slowly, inefficiently, and with unnecessary delay, often in a messy or disorganized manner.
- To be protracted / to linger: Indicates something that continues for an excessively long time without reaching completion or resolution.
Usage Examples
- Adjective/Adverb:
- Công việc chuẩn bị vẫn còn lết bết. (The preparation work is still dragging on.)
- Đừng làm lết bết thế, nhanh lên được không? (Don't do it so sluggishly, can you hurry up?)
- Dự án đó lết bết cả năm trời rồi. (That project has been dragging on for a whole year.)
Advanced Usage
- Often used to express frustration or criticism towards the slow, ineffective pace of an activity. It implies a sense of stickiness and lack of progress, not just simple slowness.
Variants and Related Words
- Lết (v): to drag, to shuffle (often referring to a slow, difficult movement of the body or an object).
- Ông cụ lết ra khỏi giường. (The old man dragged himself out of bed.)
- Bết (adj): describes a state of being sticky, soggy, or bogged down (e.g., wet rice sticking together). The compound "lết bết" combines the ideas of dragging movement and a sticky, bogged-down state.
Synonyms
- To drag on: to continue tediously or slowly.
- To dawdle: to waste time; to be slow.
- To proceed at a snail's pace: to move very slowly.
- To be bogged down: to be unable to make progress.
Related Idioms and Expressions
- Làm ăn lết bết: to do business in a sluggish, unproductive way.
- Cửa hàng làm ăn lết bết, sắp phải đóng cửa. (The store's business is dragging; it's about to close down.)
- Tiến độ lết bết: a project timeline that is crawling along.
- Tiến độ xây dựng cầu vẫn lết bết vì thiếu vốn. (The bridge construction progress is still crawling due to lack of funds.)