Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Silly, nonsensical, frivolous: Describes speech, behavior, or information that is not serious, sensible, or respectable; often implying a lack of proper decorum or substance.
   • Disrespectful, cheeky: Can describe an attitude or manner that shows a lack of respect, being impudent or irreverent.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Đừng nghe những lời mách qué đó. (Don't listen to that nonsensical talk.)
  • Thái độ mách qué của nó khiến mọi người khó chịu. (His cheeky attitude annoyed everyone.)
  • Tin gì lời mách qué ấy. (Don't believe that frivolous talk.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is primarily used in informal, colloquial Northern Vietnamese speech to criticize someone's unserious or improper conduct, often in a mildly scolding tone.

Variants and Related Words

• Mách lẻo (v): to tell tales, to tattle (a different word, but sometimes confused due to the shared root "mách").
• Bậy bạ (adj): wrong, improper, obscene (stronger, often with moral connotations).
• Láu cá (adj): sly, cunning (describes cleverness, not necessarily silliness).

Synonyms

• Frivolous: not having any serious purpose or value.
• Nonsensical: having no meaning; making no sense.
• Cheeky: showing a lack of respect in a way that is amusing or appealing.
• Irreverent: showing a lack of respect for people or things that are generally taken seriously.

Related Idioms

• Nói mách qué: to talk nonsense or frivolously.
  • Nó chỉ biết nói mách qué thôi, đừng tin. (He only knows how to talk nonsense, don't believe him.)