Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Having few members; small in size (of a family or household): Describes a family unit with very few people, often implying a lack of support or manpower.
   • Solitary; isolated; lacking support: Can describe a person or situation that is alone and without sufficient help or companionship.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Gia đình anh ấy khá neo đơn, chỉ có hai mẹ con. (His family is quite small, with just a mother and child.)
  • Sau khi các con lập gia đình, ông cụ sống neo đơn trong ngôi nhà nhỏ. (After his children started their own families, the old man lived alone and unsupported in the small house.)
  • Công việc đồng áng thật vất vả với một gia đình neo đơn như họ. (Farming is truly hard work for a short-handed family like theirs.)

Advanced Usage

• The term neo đơn carries a connotation beyond simple small size; it often implies a sense of vulnerability, hardship, or loneliness due to the lack of people.
• It is frequently used in literary or descriptive contexts to evoke sympathy or highlight a challenging situation.

Variants and Related Words

• Neo (adj): An abbreviated, slightly more literary form with the same core meaning as neo đơn.
  • Cảnh neo người nơi đất khách. (The scene of being alone and isolated in a foreign land.)
• Đơn chiếc (adj): Single; solitary; lone. Focuses more on being the only one.
• Thiếu người (phrase): To lack people; short-staffed. More neutral and descriptive.

Synonyms

• Ít người: Having few people.
• Vắng vẻ: Quiet; deserted; sparsely populated.
• Cô quạnh: Lonely; desolate (stronger emotional connotation).

Related Phrases

• Sống neo đơn: To live a solitary/unsupported life.
  • Bà ấy sống neo đơn ở quê nhà. (She lives a solitary life in her hometown.)
• Cảnh neo đơn: A solitary/desolate situation.
  • Ông không muốn các con thấy cảnh neo đơn của mình. (He didn't want his children to see his lonely situation.)

1. Short of manpower, of small size (nói về gia đình)