Definition

1. Adjective (Tính từ):
   • Noisy, chaotic, in an uproar: Describes a state of noisy commotion, disorder, or a fuss being raised, often due to anger or frustration.
   • Agitated, worked up: Refers to a person being in a state of excited, noisy agitation.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Anh ấy mất ví nên ngậu cả lên. (He lost his wallet so he kicked up a huge fuss.)
  • Đừng có ngậu lên như thế, bình tĩnh nào! (Don't get so worked up like that, calm down!)
  • Cả phòng họp ngậu lên vì tranh cãi. (The whole meeting room became chaotic due to arguments.)

Advanced Usage

• "gắt ngậu": To become angrily agitated or to raise a fuss with angry words. This is a common collocation.
  • Nghe tin đó, ông ấy gắt ngậu với nhân viên. (Upon hearing that news, he raised an angry fuss with the staff.)
• "ngậu xị": A variant with the same meaning as "ngậu", emphasizing a noisy, disorderly state.
  • Mọi chuyện ngậu xị cả lên sau vụ đó. (Everything became a noisy mess after that incident.)

Variants and Related Words

• Ngậu xị (ph.): A synonymous phrase with "ngậu", meaning to be in a noisy, disorderly, or agitated state.
• Ồn ào (adj): Noisy, loud. (A more standard synonym, less colloquial than "ngậu").
• Hỗn loạn (adj): Chaotic, disorderly. (Describes a more severe state of disorder).

Synonyms

• Lộn xộn: Messy, disordered.
• Cáu kỉnh: Irritable, grumpy (focuses more on the irritable mood than the noisy result).
• Làm ầm ĩ: To make a racket, to be noisy.

Notes on Usage

• Register: This is a colloquial word (thông tục), commonly used in spoken Vietnamese. It is informal.
• Connotation: The word often carries a negative connotation, describing an undesirable, noisy, and agitated situation or reaction. It implies a lack of control and calmness.
• Common Collocations: Most frequently used with "lên" (ngậu lên) to indicate the action of becoming agitated, or with "gắt" (gắt ngậu) to specify angry agitation.

1. (thông tục) cũng như ngậu xị Raise a fuus, kick up a fuus
   • Gắt ngậu lên
     To kich up a fuss with angry words