tí teo
Definition
- Adjective:
- Very little, tiny, minuscule: Used to describe an extremely small size, amount, or degree, often with a nuance of cuteness or insignificance. It is a reduplicative form that intensifies the meaning of "tí" (a little bit).
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Căn phòng này nhỏ tí teo. (This room is tiny.)
- Nó chỉ ăn một miếng bánh tí teo. (He only ate a minuscule piece of cake.)
- Lợi nhuận thu về tí teo, không đáng kể. (The profit earned was very little, insignificant.)
Advanced Usage
- The word is often used in informal, colloquial speech to add emphasis or an expressive, sometimes endearing, tone when describing smallness.
- It can describe abstract quantities (e.g., hope, effort) as well as physical size.
Variants and Related Words
- Tí (adj): A little, a bit. The root word.
- Cho tôi một tí đường. (Give me a little sugar.)
- Tí tẹo (adj): A synonym with identical meaning and usage to "tí teo".
- Chỉ còn lại tí tẹo. (Only a tiny bit remains.)
- Nhỏ xíu (adj): Very small, tiny.
- Bé tí (adj): Very little (often for living things or endearing contexts).
Synonyms
- Minuscule: Extremely small.
- Tiny: Very small.
- Negligible: So small as to be unimportant.
Related Idioms and Expressions
- Tí teo tí tẹo: A further reduplicated form for added emphasis, meaning "extremely tiny little bits".
- Công việc tiến triển tí teo tí tẹo. (The work is progressing in tiny, tiny increments.)
adj
-
very little
