trối kệ
Definition
- Phrase (colloquial, often considered vulgar or strongly dismissive):
- To not care at all / To disregard completely: Expresses a strong attitude of indifference, dismissal, or abandonment of concern for someone or something. It implies leaving someone to their own fate or ignoring a situation entirely.
- Too bad (for someone) / Let it be: Used to dismiss a matter, indicating that the consequences are of no concern to the speaker; similar to "so what?" or "who cares?".
Usage Examples
- Phrase:
- Trối kệ nó muốn đi đâu thì đi. (Let him go wherever he wants. / I don't care where he goes.)
- Trối kệ nó, mặc kệ nó. (Too bad for him, just leave him be.)
- Công việc hỏng hết rồi? Trối kệ! (The work is all ruined? So what!)
Advanced Usage
- The phrase is often used in spoken Vietnamese and carries a strong, sometimes harsh or vulgar, emotional tone. It is more forceful than similar phrases like "mặc kệ" or "kệ".
- It can express frustration, anger, or a deliberate decision to stop worrying about an uncontrollable person or situation.
Variants and Related Words
Mặc kệ (phrase): to disregard, to ignore (slightly less harsh than "trối kệ").
- Mặc kệ nó làm gì thì làm. (Let him do whatever he wants.)
Kệ (verb, colloquial): to not mind, to leave alone.
- Kệ tôi đi! (Leave me alone!)
Synonyms
- Disregard: to pay no attention to.
- Ignore: to refuse to take notice of.
- Leave to one's own devices: to allow someone to do what they want without help or interference.
- So what?: an expression of indifference.
Related Idioms
- Trối kệ đời: to disregard everything, to adopt a "couldn't-care-less" attitude about life.
- Anh ta sống với tâm thế trối kệ đời. (He lives with a couldn't-care-less attitude about life.)