Definition

1. Adjective / Interjection:
   • Mumbling, speaking indistinctly: Describes the sound or act of speaking in a low, unclear, and hesitant voice, often with drawn-out or mumbled syllables like "ầm à" and "ầm ừ". It conveys a lack of clarity or confidence in speech.
   • Hemming and hawing: Refers to the act of hesitating or speaking evasively, often making sounds like "um", "ah", "er" while searching for words or avoiding a direct answer.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Giọng nói của anh ấy nghe ầm à ầm ừ, tôi không hiểu anh ấy đang nói gì. (His voice sounded mumbled and indistinct; I couldn't understand what he was saying.)
  • Đừng có ầm à ầm ừ nữa, hãy trả lời câu hỏi một cách rõ ràng! (Stop hemming and hawing; answer the question clearly!)
• Interjection (representing the sound itself):
  • "Ầm à ầm ừ... tôi... tôi không chắc lắm," cậu bé ấp úng. ("Um... er... I... I'm not very sure," the boy stammered.)

Advanced Usage

• This is a reduplicative compound (từ láy) that vividly mimics the sound of unclear, hesitant speech. It is often used in a slightly critical or impatient tone to describe someone who is not speaking properly or directly.
• It can describe both the physical quality of the sound (low, muffled) and the speaker's mental state (uncertain, evasive).

Variants and Related Words

• Ầm ừ: The shorter, more common base form with the same core meaning of mumbling or speaking hesitantly. "Ầm à ầm ừ" is an extended, more expressive variant.
  • Nó chỉ biết ầm ừ cho qua chuyện. (He just mumbled to get through the matter.)
• Lầm bầm: To mutter or grumble under one's breath, often in complaint. It implies a low, continuous, and somewhat angry sound.
• Ấp úng: To stammer or stutter, often due to nervousness or shyness, focusing more on the difficulty of getting words out.

Synonyms

• Nói lắp bắp: To speak falteringly/stammeringly.
• Nói không rõ ràng: To speak unclearly/indistinctly.
• Nói quanh co: To speak evasively/beat around the bush (focuses on the evasive content rather than the sound).

Related Phrases/Idioms

• Trả lời ầm à ầm ừ: To give a mumbled, evasive answer.
  • Khi bị chất vấn, ông ta chỉ trả lời ầm à ầm ừ. (When questioned, he only gave mumbled, evasive answers.)
• Phát biểu ầm à ầm ừ: To make a hesitant, unclear statement.
  • Bài thuyết trình của cô ấy toàn là phát biểu ầm à ầm ừ. (Her presentation was full of hesitant, unclear statements.)

1. xem ầm ừ