thèm vào
Definition
- Phrase (colloquial, often vulgar):
- To not want something; to have no interest in something: Expresses strong rejection, disdain, or refusal towards an offer, object, or situation, implying it is undesirable or not worth accepting.
- "As if!"; "No way!": Used as a sharp, dismissive retort to indicate that one would never want or agree to something.
Usage Notes
- Tone and Register: This phrase is highly informal, blunt, and often considered vulgar or rude. It is used in casual speech to express strong contempt or refusal.
- Typical Structure: It is commonly used as a standalone exclamation ("Thèm vào!") or in a sentence following a description of the rejected thing, often introduced by "thế thì" (then, in that case).
Usage Examples
- As a dismissive response:
- Giá đắt thế thì tôi thèm vào! (At a price that high, no way I want it!)
- "Mày muốn mua cái áo cũ này không?" - "Thèm vào!" ("Do you want to buy this old shirt?" - "As if!")
- Expressing rejection:
- Điều kiện tồi thế thì công ty chúng tôi thèm vào. (With conditions that bad, our company wants no part of it.)
- Đồ ăn dở thế này thì thèm vào. (With food this bad, I don't want any.)
Advanced Usage
- The phrase can sometimes be softened slightly in very casual contexts among peers, but it inherently carries a strong dismissive force. It is rarely used in formal or polite situations.
Synonyms
- Không thèm: To not deign to; to scorn (slightly less vulgar).
- Không muốn: To not want (neutral).
- Không cần: To not need (neutral).
- Thôi đi: "Get lost"; "Forget it" (dismissive).
Related Idioms and Expressions
- Không thèm đếm xỉa: To not deign to pay any attention to.
- Nó nói gì tôi cũng không thèm đếm xỉa. (I don't deign to pay attention to whatever he says.)
- Thèm thuồng: To crave or long for something (This is an antonymic concept, meaning the opposite of "thèm vào").
- Đứa trẻ thèm thuồng nhìn vào cửa hàng bánh kẹo. (The child looked longingly into the candy store.)