Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Simple, plain, easy to understand: Describes language, speech, or explanation that is straightforward, uses common words, and is not complex or academic. It often implies a lack of sophistication or elegance.
   • Vernacular, colloquial: Pertaining to everyday, informal language as opposed to literary or classical forms (like Hán-Việt).

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Anh ấy giải thích vấn đề khoa học một cách rất nôm na. (He explained the scientific issue in a very simple way.)
  • Đó chỉ là cách hiểu nôm na của tôi thôi. (That's just my plain/simplistic understanding.)
  • Lời văn nôm na, dễ hiểu. (The writing is simple and easy to understand.)

Advanced Usage

• "nói nôm na ra là..." / "hiểu nôm na là...": A common phrase used to introduce a simplified explanation or a layman's terms version of something.
  • Nói nôm na ra là, công ty đang gặp khó khăn về tài chính. (Put simply, the company is having financial difficulties.)
  • Hiểu nôm na thì đây là một loại virus. (Understood in simple terms, this is a type of virus.)

Variants and Related Words

• Chữ Nôm (n): The ancient demotic script of Vietnam, used to write the Vietnamese language using adapted Chinese characters. This is the historical root of the adjective "nôm na".
• Bình dân (adj): Popular, common, of the people. Can be similar in implying simplicity and accessibility.
• Thông tục (adj): Colloquial, vernacular. Similar in referring to everyday language.

Synonyms

• Đơn giản: Simple.
• Dễ hiểu: Easy to understand.
• Bình dị: Plain, unassuming.
• Mộc mạc: Plain, rustic, unadorned (often with a positive connotation of sincerity).

Antonyms

• Hàn lâm: Academic, scholarly.
• Bác học: Erudite, learned.
• Cầu kỳ: Ornate, elaborate.
• Trừu tượng: Abstract.

Related Idioms/Phrases

• Nôm na mách qué: A rhyming phrase that emphasizes the simplistic, straightforward, and sometimes crude or overly direct nature of an explanation. It can have a slightly negative connotation of being unsophisticated.
  • Bài báo viết theo kiểu nôm na mách qué, không có tính học thuật. (The article is written in a crude, simplistic style, lacking academic merit.)

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