tích sự
Definition
- Noun:
- Something of value or use; a worthwhile result or achievement. This word is almost exclusively used in negative constructions to indicate a lack of useful outcome, accomplishment, or positive contribution.
Usage Notes
- "tích sự" is a noun but is very rarely used in isolation or in positive statements. Its standard usage is in the fixed negative phrase "chẳng/không được tích sự gì" (or similar variants), meaning "to be good for nothing," "to amount to nothing," or "to achieve nothing of value."
- It carries a critical or dismissive tone, implying that someone or something is useless or has failed to produce any meaningful result.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Làm cả ngày mà chẳng được tích sự gì. (Worked all day but achieved nothing of value.)
- Nó học nhiều năm ở nước ngoài mà không được tích sự gì. (He studied abroad for many years but it amounted to nothing.)
- Cái máy tính cũ này không còn tích sự gì nữa. (This old computer is no longer good for anything.)
Advanced Usage
- While the core meaning is negative, the word "tích sự" itself conceptually means "a positive accumulation of deeds/results." Its modern usage, however, is fossilized within negative idioms to express the absence of this accumulation.
- Công việc của họ chẳng tích sự được bao nhiêu. (Their work didn't accumulate much of value.)
Synonyms
- Use; worth; value (when used in the negative sense: ).
- Achievement; result; accomplishment (when used in the negative sense: ).
Related Idioms and Phrases
- Chẳng/Không được tích sự gì: The primary and almost exclusive idiom. Means "to be useless," "to be good for nothing," "to achieve nothing."
- Đừng có nói chuyện vô tích sự. (Don't talk about useless/trivial things.) Note: "vô tích sự" is a related, common adjective meaning "useless; trivial; inconsequential."