Definition

1. Adjective (Descriptive Particle):
   • Extremely tough or leathery: Used to describe food, especially meat, that is unpleasantly tough, chewy, and difficult to eat. It functions as an intensifier following the main adjective (e.g., dai - tough).
   • Very small and young: Used colloquially to describe a baby animal that is still very tiny and immature.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Thịt bò già dai nhách. (The meat from an old ox is extremely leathery.)
  • Thịt gì mà dai nhách thế! (What kind of meat is this? It's so incredibly tough!)
  • Con chó nhách. (A very tiny puppy / a dog that is still just a runt.)

Advanced Usage

• "nhanh nhách": A reduplicative form expressing a heightened degree of quickness or brisk, nimble movement.
  • Đứa bé chạy nhanh nhách trong sân. (The child runs very briskly around the yard.)

Variants and Related Words

• Nhếch (adj, dialect): Similar in meaning to , often describing something pulled or stretched thin, or a grimace. Can sometimes be used interchangeably in certain dialects.

Synonyms

• Leathery: Having a tough texture like leather.
• Coriaceous: (Formal) Leather-like in texture.
• Tough: Difficult to cut or chew.
• Runt: The smallest animal in a litter.

Notes on Usage

• is primarily used in informal, colloquial speech.
• It rarely stands alone and is almost always paired with a preceding descriptive adjective like (tough) or (fast), or a noun like (offspring) to form a descriptive phrase.
• Its function is emphatic, adding a strong, often negative, connotation to the word it modifies.

1. Leathery
   • Thịt bò già dai nhách
     Beef of an old ox is leathery
   • Nhanh nhách (láy, ý tăng)