Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Left over, remaining: Describes something that is leftover, remaining, or of little importance after the main part has been used or consumed. It often refers to small, insignificant remnants or odds and ends.
   • Insignificant, trivial: Can describe something considered minor, petty, or of little consequence.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Sau bữa tiệc, chỉ còn lại xôi mụi. (After the feast, only leftover sticky rice remained.)
  • Đó chỉ là chuyện mụi, đừng bận tâm. (That's just a trivial matter, don't worry about it.)
  • Họ làm giỗ mụi cho người thân. (They hold a simple, low-key death anniversary for their relative.)

Advanced Usage

• "cỗ mụi": Refers to a modest, simple meal or feast, often made from leftovers or for an unimportant occasion.

  • Nhà nghèo, năm nào cũng chỉ làm cỗ mụi. (The family is poor, every year they only prepare a simple feast.)

• "chuyện mụi": Means trivial, petty matters or gossip.

  • Cô ấy không thích nghe những chuyện mụi hàng xóm. (She doesn't like to listen to neighborhood gossip/trivial matters.)

Variants and Related Words

• Mọn mụi (adj): A synonym emphasizing pettiness or insignificance.

  • Những toan tính mọn mụi. (Petty calculations.)

• Vụn vặt (adj): Means fragmented, piecemeal, or trivial. It is a close synonym often used in similar contexts.

  • Công việc vụn vặt. (Miscellaneous/trivial chores.)

Synonyms

• Thừa: Leftover, surplus.
• Vặt vãnh: Petty, trivial.
• Tầm thường: Ordinary, insignificant.

Notes on Usage

• The word "mụi" is considered somewhat rare and literary in modern Vietnamese. It is more commonly encountered in fixed phrases like "xôi mụi" or "cỗ mụi".
• It carries a connotation of something being not just leftover, but also of diminished value or importance compared to the original.

1. Left over (as odds and ends, leavings)
   • Xôi mụi
     Left over sticky rice