Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Well-behaved; obedient: Used primarily to describe a child who listens to and follows instructions from parents, teachers, or elders without causing trouble.
   • Docile; gentle: Describes a mild, manageable, and compliant temperament.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Đứa trẻ đó rất ngoan ngoãn và lễ phép. (That child is very well-behaved and polite.)
  • Bố mẹ mong con cái sinh ra được khỏe mạnh và ngoan ngoãn. (Parents hope their children are born healthy and obedient.)
  • Cô bé ngồi ngoan ngoãn trong góc đọc sách. (The little girl sat quietly in the corner reading a book.)

Advanced Usage

• The word is often used in a praising or approving tone by adults towards children.
• It can be used in a slightly broader, sometimes ironic, context to describe an adult's unusually compliant behavior.
  • Sau khi bị phê bình, anh ta đã trở nên ngoan ngoãn hơn. (After being criticized, he became much more docile.)

Variants and Related Words

• Ngoan (adj): Good, obedient. A shorter, more common form with a very similar meaning.
  • Con ngoan! (Good child!)
• Ngoan ngoãn nghe lời (phrase): Obedient and heedful of advice/instructions.
  • Cháu phải ngoan ngoãn nghe lời ông bà. (You must be good and listen to your grandparents.)

Synonyms

• Obedient: Complying with orders or instructions.
• Well-behaved: Conducting oneself properly.
• Docile: Ready to accept control or instruction; submissive.
• Tractable: Easy to control or influence.

Related Idioms

• Ngoan như cục đất: As good/obedient as a lump of earth. An idiom emphasizing extreme docility or passivity.
  • Đứa bé ấy ngoan như cục đất, đặt đâu ngồi đấy. (That child is as docile as a lump of earth; you can place him anywhere and he'll sit there.)

adj

1. docile; obedient