Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Eavesdropping, nosy, curious: "mỏng tai" describes a person who is overly curious and tends to listen in on or pay attention to other people's private conversations or affairs that do not concern them. It implies a lack of discretion and a tendency to gossip.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Đừng có mỏng tai như thế, chuyện của người ta thì kệ họ đi. (Don't be so nosy; other people's business is theirs to deal with.)
  • Bà ấy nổi tiếng là mỏng tai, hay nghe lén chuyện hàng xóm. (She is known for being an eavesdropper, often listening in on the neighbors' affairs.)

Advanced Usage

• "tính mỏng tai": a nosy or eavesdropping nature.
  • Cô ấy có tính mỏng tai, nên chúng tôi không dám bàn chuyện quan trọng khi có mặt cô. (She has a nosy nature, so we don't dare discuss important matters when she's present.)

Variants and Related Words

• Nghe lén / Nghe trộm (verb): to eavesdrop, to listen secretly.
  • Hành động nghe lén là không tốt. (The act of eavesdropping is not good.)
• Tò mò (adjective): curious. (This is a more general and often less negative term than "mỏng tai").
  • Đứa trẻ nào cũng rất tò mò về thế giới xung quanh. (Every child is very curious about the world around them.)

Synonyms

• Tọc mạch: meddlesome, prying.
• Hay dòm ngó: prone to snooping around.

Related Idioms

• "Chuyện người thì sáng, chuyện mình thì quáng": A proverb meaning one sees others' affairs clearly but is blind to one's own. This relates to the behavior of a "mỏng tai" person who is overly focused on others.
  • Anh ta lúc nào cũng mỏng tai chuyện thiên hạ, đúng là "chuyện người thì sáng, chuyện mình thì quáng". (He's always nosy about other people's business, truly "seeing others' affairs clearly but being blind to his own.")

1. Eavesdropping