tán dóc

Hai người bạn ngồi tán dóc ở quán cà phê.

Definition

1. Verb:
   • To chat idly / To gossip aimlessly: The primary meaning of "tán dóc" is to talk continuously about trivial, unimportant, or meaningless matters in a relaxed, informal manner. It emphasizes casual, often lengthy conversation without a serious purpose.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Họ ngồi quán cà phê tán dóc cả buổi chiều. (They sat at the coffee shop chatting idly all afternoon.)
  • Đừng tán dóc nữa, tập trung vào công việc đi. (Stop gossiping aimlessly and focus on your work.)
  • Chúng tôi chỉ đang tán dóc về phim ảnh thôi. (We were just chatting idly about movies.)

Advanced Usage

• The term carries a slightly colloquial or informal register. While often neutral, it can sometimes imply a mild criticism for talking too much about nothing, depending on context.

Variants and Related Words

• Tán gẫu (v): A direct synonym, also meaning to chat or gossip casually.

  • Mẹ tôi thích tán gẫu với hàng xóm. (My mother likes to chat with the neighbors.)

• Buôn dưa lê (idiomatic expression, v): To gossip, often about others' personal affairs.

  • Họ ngồi buôn dưa lê về chuyện công sở. (They sat around gossiping about office affairs.)

Synonyms

• Chatter: to talk quickly or incessantly about trivial matters.
• Chitchat: to engage in informal small talk.
• Jabber: to talk rapidly and excitedly but with little sense.

Related Idioms

• While "tán dóc" itself is an informal compound verb, it is conceptually related to idioms about pointless talk, such as "chuyện trời ơi đất hỡi" (talk about insignificant or exaggerated stories).