ten đồng

Definition

1. Noun (slang, archaic):

   • A ten-dong coin: Refers specifically to the former South Vietnamese 10-dong coin, a unit of currency used before 1975.
   • Something of little value: By extension, it is used idiomatically to denote something trivial, worthless, or a very small amount of money.

2. Noun (in compounds):

   • Used as a component in certain idiomatic expressions to emphasize insignificance or a paltry sum.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Cái đó không đáng một ten đồng. (That thing isn't worth a ten-dong coin.)
  • Anh ta keo kiệt từng ten đồng. (He is stingy down to every ten-dong coin.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is almost exclusively used in figurative, often dismissive, contexts in modern Vietnamese, as the physical coin is no longer in circulation.

Variants and Related Words

• Đồng: (noun) dong, the basic monetary unit of Vietnam.
• Hào: (noun) hao, a former subunit of the dong (1/10 of a dong), also used to indicate small value.

Synonyms

• Trivial sum: A very small and insignificant amount of money.
• Peanuts (slang): A very small or insignificant amount of money.

Related Idioms

• Không đáng một ten đồng: To be not worth a ten-dong coin; to be completely worthless.

  • Lời hứa của hắn không đáng một ten đồng. (His promise isn't worth a ten-dong coin.)

• Tính từng ten đồng: To count every ten-dong coin; to be extremely careful or stingy with money.

  • Bà ấy tính từng ten đồng khi đi chợ. (She counts every ten-dong coin when she goes to the market.)