nhây

Thân thiện

Miếng thịt này rất nhây, dao cắt mãi không đứt.

Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Stringy, tough, and elastic: Describes a substance, especially food like meat, that is fibrous, chewy, and resistant to being cut or torn.
   • Protracted and tedious: Describes a task, process, or situation that drags on excessively and is difficult to conclude.

2. Verb (colloquial):

   • To drag on / to be protracted: To extend in an annoyingly slow, prolonged, or inefficient manner without progress.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • Miếng thịt này rất nhây, dao sắc cũng khó cắt. (This piece of meat is very tough and stringy, even a sharp knife has difficulty cutting it.)
  • Công việc ấy nhây quá, cả tuần vẫn chưa xong. (That job is so protracted, it's been a week and it's still not finished.)

• Verb:

  • Dự án cứ nhây ra thêm mấy tháng nữa. (The project just keeps dragging on for several more months.)

Advanced Usage

• "Nói nhây": to speak at excessive length; to ramble on tediously.

  • Anh ấy nói nhây cả giờ về một vấn đề nhỏ. (He spoke lengthily for an hour about a minor issue.)

• "Nhây nhây" (reduplicative form, intensifying meaning): very stringy or very protracted.

  • Sợi dây chun nhây nhây, kéo mãi không đứt. (The rubber band is extremely elastic, it won't snap no matter how long you stretch it.)

Variants and Related Words

• Nhây nhợ (adj): similar to "nhây," emphasizing a slimy, glutinous, and stringy texture.
  • Canh mùng tơi nấu lên hơi nhây nhợ. (The malabar spinach soup, when cooked, becomes somewhat slimy and stringy.)

Synonyms

• Stringy: having a fibrous, chewy texture.
• Tedious: too long, slow, or dull.
• Protracted: lasting for a long time or longer than expected.

Related Idioms

• Cắt nhây mãi không đứt: (literally: to try to cut something stringy without success) to struggle endlessly with a stubborn, unresolved problem.
  • Vụ tranh chấp đó như miếng thịt cắt nhây mãi không đứt. (That dispute is like a piece of meat that won't cut, it drags on without resolution.)

Học thuật

1. Lengthy
   • Nói nhây
     To speak lengthily
2. As if with a saw
   • Cắt nhây mãi không đứt miếng thịt
     To try to cut as if with a saw a bit of meat without success
   • nhây nhây (láy, ý tăng)