tép riu
Definition
- Noun:
- Tiny shrimp / minute prawn: A very small, freshwater crustacean, similar to a shrimp but much smaller in size. It is often used in Vietnamese cuisine.
- (Figurative, colloquial) A nobody / a small fry: Used to refer to an insignificant or unimportant person, especially in a hierarchical or organizational context.
Usage Examples
- Noun (literal):
- Canh chua nấu với tép riu rất ngon. (Sour soup cooked with tiny shrimp is very delicious.)
- Mẹ tôi mua một rổ tép riu để làm mắm. (My mother bought a basket of minute prawns to make fermented paste.)
- Noun (figurative):
- Hắn ta chỉ là tép riu trong tổ chức đó thôi. (He's just a small fry in that organization.)
- Bọn tép riu ấy chẳng quyết định được gì đâu. (Those nobodies can't decide anything.)
Advanced Usage
- The figurative meaning is often used in a slightly derogatory or dismissive way to indicate someone has little power, influence, or status.
Variants and Related Words
- Tép (n): A general term for small shrimp or prawns, larger than but still small.
- Tép khô (n): Dried small shrimp.
- Con tôm (n): A standard-sized shrimp or prawn.
Synonyms
- Small fry: An insignificant person (for the figurative sense).
- Minnow: A person or organization of little importance.
- Nobody: A person of no importance or authority.
Related Idioms
- Đầu voi đuôi chuột: Literally "elephant's head, mouse's tail"; meaning something that starts impressively but ends poorly. This idiom shares the concept of significant beginnings versus insignificant endings, similar to the contrast implied by (small thing) in a big context.