Definition

1. Adjective:
   • New and strange; novel and unfamiliar: Describes something that is both recently encountered and perceived as unusual, different, or not previously known. It combines the sense of novelty ("mới") with strangeness or unfamiliarity ("lạ").
   • Unheard-of; extraordinary: Refers to something so unusual that it is surprising or has never been known before.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Điều này đối với tôi rất mới lạ. (This is something very new and strange to me.)
  • Chuyện ấy đối với anh không có gì là mới lạ. (That story is nothing unheard-of to him.)
  • Cô ấy luôn tìm kiếm những trải nghiệm mới lạ. (She is always seeking novel experiences.)
  • Phong cách kiến trúc này trông thật mới lạ. (This architectural style looks truly unfamiliar and interesting.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is often used to describe abstract concepts like feelings, ideas, stories, or experiences, emphasizing their freshness and capacity to surprise.
• It can carry a positive connotation of exciting novelty or a neutral connotation of mere unfamiliarity, depending on context.

Variants and Related Words

• Mới (adj): new, recent.
  • Chiếc xe này còn rất mới. (This car is still very new.)
• Lạ (adj): strange, unfamiliar, foreign.
  • Cô ấy cảm thấy lạc lõng ở một đất nước lạ. (She felt lost in a foreign country.)
• Lạ lẫm (adj): strange, unfamiliar (often with a stronger sense of alienation than "mới lạ").
  • Cảnh vật nơi đây thật lạ lẫm. (The scenery here is utterly strange.)

Synonyms

• Novel: new and unusual.
• Unfamiliar: not known or recognized.
• Unprecedented: never done or known before.
• Extraordinary: very unusual or remarkable.

Related Idioms

• While "mới lạ" itself is not typically part of a fixed idiom, it is conceptually related to phrases about novelty and discovery.
• Lạ nước lạ cái: (idiom) To be a fish out of water; to be in a completely new and disorienting environment.
  • Lần đầu đi xa, nó cảm thấy lạ nước lạ cái. (Going far away for the first time, he felt like a fish out of water.)

1. Extraordinary, unusual, unheard-of
   • Điều này đối với tôi rất mới lạ
     This something very unusual for me
   • Chuyện ấy đối với anh không có gì là mới lạ
     That story is not something unheard-of to him; that stiry is no news to him