Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Slightly mad, a bit crazy: Describes a person whose behavior or thinking is somewhat eccentric, odd, or not entirely normal, but not severely insane.
   • Tipsy, slightly drunk: Describes a state of mild intoxication, where one is not fully drunk but feels the effects of alcohol.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Ông ấy có vẻ hơi tàng tàng sau cú ngã. (He seems a bit crazy after the fall.)
  • Anh ta uống hai ly bia và bắt đầu cảm thấy tàng tàng. (He drank two beers and started to feel tipsy.)

Advanced Usage

• Describing worn-out objects (colloquial): While the core meanings are "slightly mad" or "tipsy," in very colloquial usage, it can sometimes describe an object that is very old and worn out from long use. This usage is less common for the core word itself and more typical of compound or derived expressions.
  • Chiếc xe máy cũ kỹ chạy ì ạch, trông thật tàng tàng. (The old motorbike runs sluggishly, looking really worn-out.)

Variants and Related Words

• Tàng (adj): A root or abbreviated form meaning "crazy" or "mad," often found in compounds. It is stronger than "tàng tàng."
  • Tính hắn thật là tàng. (His personality is truly crazy.)
• Tàng hình (adj): Invisible (a compound word; "tàng" here has a different etymological root meaning "to hide").
• Tang tảng (adj): Dim, pale (e.g., dawn). This is a homophone with a completely different meaning.

Synonyms

• Hơi điên, gàn dở: slightly crazy, eccentric.
• Ngà ngà say, chếnh choáng: tipsy, slightly intoxicated.

Related Phrases

• Làm tàng tàng: To act crazy or eccentric.
  • Đừng làm tàng tàng trước mặt khách. (Don't act crazy in front of the guests.)

Related Idioms

• Tàng tàng như gà mắc tóc: (Idiom) To act utterly confused and scatterbrained, like a chicken with its feathers tangled.
  • Sáng nay tôi quên hết mọi thứ, tàng tàng như gà mắc tóc. (This morning I forgot everything, I was all over the place like a confused chicken.)

adj

1. slightly mad. tipsy