quềnh quoàng
Definition
- Adjective:
- Careless; sloppy; done without care or attention to detail: Describes an action performed in a hasty, thoughtless, or negligent manner, resulting in a messy or unsatisfactory outcome. It implies a lack of thoroughness and precision.
- Haphazard; slapdash: Characterizes work or behavior that is disorganized and lacking proper method or order.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Anh ta làm việc gì cũng quềnh quoàng. (He does everything in a careless/sloppy manner.)
- Đừng quềnh quoàng, hãy cẩn thận một chút. (Don't be so slapdash, be a bit more careful.)
- Cô ấy dọn dẹp căn phòng một cách quềnh quoàng. (She cleaned the room in a haphazard way.)
Advanced Usage
- The word is often used in a disapproving or critical tone to comment on the poor quality of someone's work or actions due to a lack of care.
- It can describe a person's characteristic way of doing things (e.g., – a careless person) or a specific instance of an action.
Variants and Related Words
- Qua loa (adj): superficial, cursory, done just to get it over with. While similar, can sometimes imply a deliberate lack of depth, whereas emphasizes the messy, disorderly result.
- Cẩu thả (adj): negligent, slovenly. This is a stronger synonym, often implying a more serious lack of responsibility.
Synonyms
- Careless: Not giving sufficient attention or thought to avoiding harm or errors.
- Sloppy: Lacking care or effort; messy.
- Slapdash: Done too hurriedly and carelessly.
- Haphazard: Lacking any obvious principle of organization.
Related Idioms
- Làm cho xong chuyện: To do something just to get it done (emphasizes the motive of completion over quality, which aligns with the result of a action).
- Đầu voi đuôi chuột: Literally "head of an elephant, tail of a mouse"; meaning something that starts impressively but ends poorly or carelessly. This idiom describes an outcome that could result from a approach.