Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Carelessly or crudely drawn/written: Describes lines, drawings, or handwriting that are made quickly and without skill, attention, or care, resulting in a messy, untidy, or childish appearance.
   • Sloppy or slapdash: Can describe any action or result performed in a hasty, negligent, or unrefined manner.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Đứa trẻ vẽ nguếch ngoác lên tường. (The child scribbled sloppily on the wall.)
  • Chữ viết trong ghi chú của anh ấy rất nguếch ngoác. (The handwriting in his note was very scrawled.)
  • Đó chỉ là một bản phác thảo nguếch ngoác. (It was just a crude, hastily drawn sketch.)

Advanced Usage

• The word is a reduplicative, where "nguếch" is paired with "ngoác" to form a single descriptive term emphasizing the careless, irregular quality of the action or result. It often carries a mildly negative or dismissive connotation.

Variants and Related Words

• Nguệch ngoạc: A common variant spelling with the same meaning.
  • Cô ấy ký tên nguệch ngoạc vào biên lai. (She scrawled her signature on the receipt.)

Synonyms

• Scribbled: Written quickly and carelessly.
• Scrawled: Written in a hurried, awkward, or illegible way.
• Crude: Roughly or simply made, lacking polish.
• Slapdash: Done too hurriedly and carelessly.

Related Idioms

• While "nguếch ngoác" itself is not typically part of a fixed idiom, it is used in descriptive phrases to criticize the quality of work.
  • Vẽ nguếch ngoác cho xong: To draw sloppily just to get it done.