Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Chewing or eating with difficulty: Describes the action of chewing or masticating in an awkward, laborious, or ineffective manner, often due to missing teeth, toothache, or eating something hard to chew.
   • Performing an action clumsily or incompetently: Used figuratively to describe performing a task, especially a mechanical or manual one, in a rough, unskilled, or faltering way.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Ông cụ nhai trệu trạo vì răng đã rụng gần hết. (The old man chewed laboriously because most of his teeth had fallen out.)
  • Đứa bé ăn trệu trạo miếng bánh mì khô. (The child chewed clumsily on the piece of dry bread.)
  • Anh thợ mới lắp cái máy một cách trệu trạo. (The new mechanic assembled the machine in a clumsy manner.)

Advanced Usage

• The word is often used in a descriptive, slightly onomatopoeic way to evoke the sound and sight of inefficient chewing or handling.

Variants and Related Words

• Trếu tráo (adj): This is a variant form listed in some dictionaries with a similar meaning related to awkward chewing or impudent behavior (though "trếu tráo" more commonly means "cheeky" or "impudent").

Synonyms

• Laboriously: In a way that requires considerable effort.
• Clumsily: In an awkward, unskillful way.
• Ineffectively: Without producing the desired effect.

Related Idioms

• While not a standalone idiom, the phrase "nhai trệu trạo" (to chew clumsily) is a common collocation that perfectly illustrates its core meaning.