Definition

1. Interjection:
   • A teasing phrase used by children when showing food to make another child envious: "nhẻm nhèm nhem" is a playful, childish taunt used when one child holds out food to provoke desire or envy in another.

Usage Examples

• Interjection:
  • Nhẻm nhèm nhem, có thèm cho một miếng. (Nhẻm nhèm nhem, want a bite? Too bad, you can't have any.)
  • Đứa trẻ cầm kẹo và nói: "Nhẻm nhèm nhem!" (The child held the candy and said: "Nhẻm nhèm nhem!")

Advanced Usage

• This word is almost exclusively used in the specific context of children's playful teasing. It is not used in formal or adult conversation.

Variants and Related Words

• Nhem: This is the root component. In some childish or colloquial contexts, "nhem" alone can imply something messy or, in this specific reduplicated form, functions as a taunt.

Synonyms

• Chê: (to scorn, to disdain) - but this lacks the specific playful, teasing connotation.
• Trêu chọc: (to tease) - a general verb for teasing.

Notes on Meaning

• The word is an example of reduplication in Vietnamese, specifically a triplication ("nhẻm nhèm nhem"), which is often used in children's language or for onomatopoeic/expressive effect. Its meaning is entirely dependent on this specific, fixed phrase.

1. xem nhem