xảo hoạt
Definition
- Adjective:
- Cunning; crafty; sly: Describes a person who uses clever but deceptive and dishonest methods to achieve their goals. It implies a shrewd intelligence applied to trickery or deceit.
- Devious; wily: Suggests a skillful but underhanded and untrustworthy nature.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Anh ta là một kẻ xảo hoạt, không bao giờ nói thẳng điều mình nghĩ. (He is a cunning person, never saying directly what he thinks.)
- Với thủ đoạn xảo hoạt, hắn đã chiếm đoạt tài sản của công ty. (With crafty schemes, he appropriated the company's assets.)
- Đừng tin vào vẻ ngoài thân thiện, bản chất hắn rất xảo hoạt. (Don't trust the friendly appearance; his nature is very devious.)
Advanced Usage
- The term xảo hoạt is considered literary and somewhat rare in modern everyday conversation. It carries a strong negative moral judgment, emphasizing a calculated and insincere cleverness.
Variants and Related Words
- Xảo quyệt (adj): deceitful, treacherous. Often used interchangeably with , with a similar meaning of cunning deceit.
- Xảo trá (adj): fraudulent, deceitful. Emphasizes falseness and deception.
Synonyms
- Cunning: Skilled in achieving one's ends by deceit.
- Crafty: Clever at achieving one's aims by indirect or deceitful methods.
- Sly: Having or showing a cunning and deceitful nature.
- Devious: Showing a skillful use of underhanded tactics to achieve goals.
Related Idioms
- Khôn vặt (lit: petty cleverness): This colloquial phrase describes a similar concept of low, cunning cleverness used for small, selfish gains, and is more common in speech than .