Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Very cunning, crafty: Describes a person or action that is extremely deceitful, sly, and skilled at using trickery to achieve goals.
   • Insidious, wily: Characterized by a subtle, treacherous, and underhanded cleverness.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Hắn ta là một kẻ rất quỷ quyệt. (He is a very cunning/crafty person.)
  • Đó là một âm mưu quỷ quyệt. (That is a crafty/insidious plot.)
  • Cô ấy trả lời bằng một nụ cười quỷ quyệt. (She answered with a sly/crafty smile.)

Advanced Usage

• "quỷ quyệt như cáo": as cunning as a fox.

  • Tên trộm đó quỷ quyệt như cáo, cảnh sát khó lòng bắt được. (That thief is as cunning as a fox, the police will have a hard time catching him.)

• "thủ đoạn quỷ quyệt": cunning/underhanded tactics.

  • Hắn dùng những thủ đoạn quỷ quyệt để leo lên vị trí đó. (He used cunning/underhanded tactics to climb to that position.)

Variants and Related Words

• Quỷ (n): ghost, devil. Often used in compounds to imply something wicked or clever.
• Quỷ kế (n): devilish/cunning scheme.
• Xảo quyệt (adj): synonymous with , meaning cunning, crafty.
• Gian xảo (adj): deceitful, fraudulent.

Synonyms

• Xảo trá: deceitful, fraudulent.
• Láu cá: sly, shrewd (often with a connotation of street-smarts).
• Mưu mô: scheming, calculating.
• Lõi đời: worldly-wise, cunning (in a practical sense).

Related Idioms

• "Khôn ngoan quỷ quyệt": shrewd and cunning.

  • Để tồn tại trong thương trường, đôi khi phải khôn ngoan quỷ quyệt. (To survive in business, one sometimes has to be shrewd and cunning.)

• "Mặt người dạ quỷ": (literally: a human face, a devil's heart) – describes someone who appears kind but is inwardly wicked and cunning.

  • Đừng tin anh ta, hắn là loại mặt người dạ quỷ. (Don't trust him; he is the kind who has a human face but a devil's heart.)

1. Very cunning, crafty