Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Chewing or eating hastily and messily: Describes the action of chewing food quickly, carelessly, and often noisily, without proper manners or attention.
   • Speaking in a sloppy, hasty, or disrespectful manner: Can describe speech that is rushed, unclear, or impudent.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Nó ăn nhếu nháo mấy miếng bánh mì rồi chạy vội đi học. (He bolted down a few pieces of bread messily and rushed off to school.)
  • Đừng nói nhếu nháo như thế, người ta không hiểu đâu. (Don't speak in such a sloppy manner; people won't understand.)

Advanced Usage

• "ăn nhếu nháo": to gobble, to bolt, to wolf down food.
  • Bọn trẻ ăn nhếu nháo bữa tối để còn xem phim. (The children wolfed down their dinner to go watch a movie.)
• "nói nhếu nháo": to speak hastily/indistinctly, to mumble impudently.
  • Cậu ta trả lời nhếu nháo khi bị giáo viên hỏi. (He answered the teacher's question with a hasty, indistinct mumble.)

Variants and Related Words

• Nhếch nhác (adj): slovenly, untidy (often regarding appearance or living space). While related to carelessness, it focuses on visual untidiness rather than the action of eating or speaking.
• Cẩu thả (adj): careless, sloppy. A broader term for negligence in work or behavior.
• Lếu láo (adj): impudent, insolent. Specifically refers to disrespectful speech or attitude, closer to the second meaning of "nhếu nháo".

Synonyms

• Ăn ngấu nghiến: to devour, to eat voraciously.
• Nói lắp bắp: to stammer, to speak falteringly (focuses on lack of fluency rather than disrespect).
• Nói cộc lốc: to speak curtly/bluntly.

Notes on Meaning

• The word strongly implies a lack of decorum, care, and respect in the action, whether it's eating or speaking. It is informal and often carries a negative, disapproving tone.
• The primary and most common usage relates to the manner of eating. The application to speech is a secondary, figurative extension based on the same concept of careless execution.

1. lếu láo, Chew roughly
   • Ăn nhếu nháo cho nhanh để đi
     To chew roughly some food and set off, to bolt some food and be off