vẻn vẹn

Trong phòng vẻn vẹn có ba người.

Definition

1. Adverb:
   • Only / merely / just: Used to emphasize a surprisingly small or limited quantity, amount, or number. It conveys a sense that the amount is less than expected, sufficient, or impressive.
   • A mere / a scant: Functions similarly to "only," but with a stronger connotation of scantiness or insufficiency.

Usage Examples

• Adverb:
  • Căn phòng rộng nhưng vẻn vẹn có một chiếc bàn. (The room is spacious but has only one table.)
  • Anh ấy làm việc cả tháng, lương vẻn vẹn ba triệu đồng. (He worked the whole month for a salary of a mere three million dong.)
  • Thời gian còn lại vẻn vẹn năm phút. (The remaining time is a scant five minutes.)

Advanced Usage

• "vẻn vẹn" can be used with time, money, countable objects, or abstract quantities to underscore their limited nature.
  • Dự án nhận được vẻn vẹn hai sự ủng hộ. (The project received only two expressions of support.)

Variants and Related Words

• Chỉ (adv): only, just. (Less emphatic about scantiness than ).
• Mới (adv): only, just. (Often used with time or recent actions).

Synonyms

• Only: and nothing more.
• Merely: just, simply.
• Scarcely: only just, almost insufficiently.
• A mere: used to emphasize how small or insignificant something is.

Related Idioms

• Có vẻn vẹn: to have only a paltry amount.
  • Sau trận lũ, họ có vẻn vẹn một túi gạo. (After the flood, they had only a paltry bag of rice.)