Definition

1. Noun:
   • A short time; a short while; a brief period: Refers to a small, limited, or insignificant amount of time. It is often used in negative or rhetorical constructions to mean "not long" or "not much time."
   • A small amount; a little bit; a small quantity: Refers to a meager or insignificant amount of something, often implying it is not enough or not worth much.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Time):

  • Chả mấy nả mà đã năm mươi rồi. (It will not be long before one is fifty.)
  • Công việc này thì làm trong mấy nả? (How can this job be done in such a short time?)

• Noun (Quantity):

  • Sức nó thì được mấy nả. (His strength is only a little bit / not much.)
  • Tiền lương ấy thì được mấy nả. (That salary is only a paltry amount.)

Advanced Usage

• "mấy nả": A common fixed phrase meaning "how little," "not much," or "not long." It is used rhetorically to emphasize the smallness or brevity of something.
  • Còn mấy nả nữa mà không chờ? (It's only a little while longer, why can't you wait?)

Variants and Related Words

• bao nả: (obsolete/interrogative) How much? How many? (This is an older form, with "bao" meaning "how.")
  • Reference from source dictionary: "xem bao nả"

Synonyms

• Short while: a brief period.
• Little bit: a small amount.
• Modicum: a small quantity of something.

Notes on Usage

• The word "nả" is considered somewhat literary or regional and is not extremely common in everyday modern speech. It is primarily used in set phrases like "mấy nả".
• It almost always carries a connotation of insufficiency or insignificance, minimizing the amount or duration it refers to.
• The second definition from the reference context, "creel" (a basket for holding fish), is an extremely rare and archaic meaning not found in common modern usage. The primary meanings relate to time and quantity.

noun

1. short time; short while
   • chả mấy nả mà đã năm mươi rồi
     It will not belong before one is fifty

noun

1. creel