Like other languages, Vietnamese also exists as “slang.” So what is slang? Why does slang exist? Let’s learn about slang in Vietnamese with Jellyfish!
1. What is slang?
Slang is an informal social dialect form of a language, often used in everyday communication, by a group of people. Slang originally appeared for the purpose of concealing the conventional meaning of the expression that only certain people understand. Slang often does not have a direct or literal meaning of the emitted word but has a symbolic and figurative meaning.
Today, slang is used more and more common, especially among young people. Using slang will make you feel more trendy, fun and the language more diverse. However, the abuse of slang words sometimes degrades the nature of the language. Even in Vietnam, many young people use slang so much that even parents do not understand what their children are saying.
2. Where did the slang come from?
With the development of language, new slangs also appeared over time. However, due to the nature of only being used by a limited number of individuals, when a slang loses its popularity, it will be quickly discarded or replaced by another slang. Nowadays, with the development of the internet, slang written by young people spreads more easily and widely.
3. Some common slangs in Vietnam
Let’s guess what the meaning of these slang words are!
“Thả thính”
“Quẩy”
“Chém gió”
“Nhạt-mặn”
Sounds very strange, right? Let’s explain these slangs with Jellyfish!
“Thả thính”: Thả thính means that attracts someone, makes them like you, basically it’s flirting.
“Quẩy”: Fun activities, dancing, singing, partying (often with many people)
“Chém gió”: Gossiping for fun, often tends to fabricate a part or exaggerate, overstate a little.
“Nhạt-Mặn”: Nhạt refers to people with bland personality, in contrast, Mặn refers only interesting people.
These slangs are used widely by young Vietnamese people, let’s memorize them so you don’t get confused when talking with Vietnamese people!
Refer to Vietnamese teaching center here.
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