Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Innocent; Guiltless: Lacking knowledge or understanding of the world's complexities, often due to youth or inexperience. It implies purity and absence of corruption or sin.
   • Naive: Showing a lack of experience, wisdom, or judgment, often leading to a tendency to trust too readily or to be easily deceived.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Đứa trẻ có nụ cười rất ngây thơ. (The child has a very innocent smile.)
  • Cô ấy quá ngây thơ để nhận ra lời nói dối. (She is too naive to recognize the lie.)
  • Một tình yêu ngây thơ thời học sinh. (An innocent love from school days.)

Advanced Usage

• The word can describe not only people but also abstract concepts like love, beauty, or an era, emphasizing purity and lack of artifice.
  • Vẻ đẹp ngây thơ của bức tranh. (The painting's naive beauty.)

Variants and Related Words

• Sự ngây thơ (n): Innocence; naivety. The noun form denoting the state or quality.
  • Sự ngây thơ của trẻ con thật đáng yêu. (The innocence of children is lovely.)

Synonyms

• Innocent: Free from moral wrong; not corrupted.
• Naive: Lacking worldly experience and understanding.
• Guileless: Devoid of cunning or deceit; innocent.
• Artless: Without guile or deception; natural and simple.

Antonyms

• Experienced: Having knowledge or skill from observation or participation.
• Cynical: Believing that people are motivated purely by self-interest.
• Worldly-wise: Having a sophisticated understanding of the ways of the world.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Ngây thơ trong trắng: Pure and innocent. An intensified phrase emphasizing complete innocence.
  • Tâm hồn ngây thơ trong trắng. (A pure and innocent soul.)
• Bộ mặt ngây thơ: A naive/innocent face. Often used to describe someone pretending to be innocent.
  • Hắn giả vờ một bộ mặt ngây thơ. (He put on an innocent face.)

adj

1. naive; innocent; guiltless