Describing people: positive and negative qualities

Quick-tempered (adj) /ˌkwɪk ˈtempəd/ (He is quick-tempered and gets angry easily.)

🔸 becoming angry very easily → nóng tính; dễ nổi giận

Opportunistic (adj) /ˌɒp.ə.tʃuːˈnɪs.tɪk/ (He is an opportunistic businessman who takes advantage of every situation.)

🔸 taking advantage of opportunities for personal benefit → cơ hội chủ nghĩa; chớp thời cơ để trục lợi

Conservative (adj) /kənˈsɜː.və.tɪv/ (She has quite conservative views about education.)

🔸 preferring traditional ideas and ways of doing things → bảo thủ; theo truyền thống

Conscientious (adj) /ˌkɒn.ʃiˈen.ʃəs/ (She is a conscientious employee who always checks her work carefully.)

🔸 careful to do things correctly and thoroughly → tận tâm; chu đáo; có trách nhiệm

Chauvinistic (adj) /ˌʃəʊ.vɪˈnɪs.tɪk/ (His chauvinistic attitude offended many people.)

🔸 believing that your own group is better than others → có tư tưởng sô-vanh; trọng nam khinh nữ

A born leader (n) /ə bɔːn ˈliː.dər/ (She is a born leader who naturally inspires others.)

🔸 someone who has a natural ability to lead → nhà lãnh đạo bẩm sinh

Get carried away (phr) /ɡet ˌkærid əˈweɪ/ (I got carried away and bought far more than I needed.)

🔸 to become so excited that you lose control of your feelings or actions → bị cuốn theo cảm xúc; quá phấn khích đến mức mất kiểm soát

Affectionate (adj) /əˈfek.ʃən.ət/ (She is very affectionate towards her family.)

🔸 showing love and fondness → tình cảm; trìu mến; âu yếm

Obliging (adj) /əˈblaɪ.dʒɪŋ/ (The obliging receptionist helped me find a taxi.)

🔸 willing to help or do what others ask → hay giúp đỡ; sẵn lòng giúp

Sentimental (adj) /ˌsen.tɪˈmen.təl/ (He gets sentimental when he looks at old photographs.)

🔸 strongly affected by emotions → đa cảm

Superficial (adj) /ˌsuː.pəˈfɪʃ.əl/ (Their relationship is rather superficial.)

🔸 lacking depth or serious thought → hời hợt; nông cạn

Fun-loving (adj) /ˈfʌn ˌlʌv.ɪŋ/ (She is a fun-loving person who enjoys meeting new people.)

🔸 enjoying having fun and entertaining activities → ham vui; thích vui chơi

Tactless (adj) /ˈtækt.ləs/ (His tactless comment upset her.)

🔸 not careful about what you say and how it affects others → thiếu tế nhị; vụng về trong giao tiếp

Stingy (adj) /ˈstɪn.dʒi/ (He is too stingy to buy his friends a drink.)

🔸 unwilling to spend or give money → keo kiệt; bủn xỉn

Diligent (adj) /ˈdɪl.ɪ.dʒənt/ (She is a diligent student who always completes her homework.)

🔸 working hard and carefully → siêng năng; chăm chỉ; cần cù

Placid (adj) /ˈplæs.ɪd/ (He has a calm and placid personality.)

🔸 calm and peaceful by nature → điềm đạm; bình thản

Cunning (adj) /ˈkʌn.ɪŋ/ (He is a cunning man who always finds a way to get what he wants.)

🔸 clever at achieving things through dishonest or indirect methods → xảo quyệt; ranh mãnh

Witty (adj) /ˈwɪt.i/ (She is witty and always makes people laugh.)

🔸 clever and amusing in what you say → hóm hỉnh; dí dỏm

Magnetic personality (n) /mæɡˌnet.ɪk ˌpɜː.sənˈæl.ə.ti/ (His magnetic personality attracts people wherever he goes.)

🔸 a personality that strongly attracts and influences others → tính cách cuốn hút; sức hút cá nhân

Good company (n) /ɡʊd ˈkʌm.pə.ni/ (She's always good company on long journeys.)

🔸 a pleasant person to spend time with → người dễ ở cùng; người bạn đồng hành thú vị

Shrewd (adj) /ʃruːd/ (She is a shrewd businesswoman who rarely makes a bad decision.)

🔸 having good judgment and practical intelligence → khôn ngoan; sắc sảo; tinh ranh

Extravagant (adj) /ɪkˈstræv.ə.ɡənt/ (He is extravagant and spends far too much money.)

🔸 spending much more money than necessary → hoang phí; xa hoa

Down-to-earth (adj) /ˌdaʊn.tuˈɜːθ/ (Despite her success she remains very down-to-earth.)

thực tế, giản dị, gần gũi

Altruistic (adj) /ˌæl.truˈɪs.tɪk/ (Her altruistic nature led her to volunteer regularly.)

🔸 caring about others more than yourself → vị tha; không vụ lợi

Morose (adj) /məˈrəʊs/ (He became morose after hearing the bad news.)

🔸 unhappy → ủ rũ, rầu rĩ

Sharp-tongued (adj) /ˌʃɑːp ˈtʌŋd/ (She can be quite sharp-tongued when she is annoyed.)

🔸 speaking in a very critical or harsh way → cay nghiệt; chua ngoa; ăn nói sắc bén

Generous >< extravagant (adj) /ˈdʒen.ər.əs/ >< /ɪkˈstræv.ə.ɡənt/

🔸 willing to give or share freely → hào phóng; rộng lượng >< 🔸 spending much more money than necessary → hoang phí; xa hoa

Unstinting >< immoderate (adj) /ʌnˈstɪn.tɪŋ/ >< /ɪˈmɒd.ər.ət/

🔸 giving freely and generously without limiting the amount → hào phóng; không tiếc; hết lòng >< 🔸 excessive or beyond reasonable limits → quá mức; thái quá

Resolute >< stubborn (adj) /ˈrez.ə.luːt/ >< /ˈstʌb.ən/

🔸 determined and unwilling to change your mind → kiên quyết; quả quyết >< 🔸 unwilling to change your opinion or behavior → bướng bỉnh; cứng đầu

Dogged >< obstinate (adj) /ˈdɒɡ.ɪd/ >< /ˈɒb.stɪ.nət/

🔸 showing great persistence and determination → kiên trì; bền bỉ; ngoan cường >< 🔸 unreasonably refusing to change your opinion → ngoan cố; cố chấp

Thrifty >< stingy (adj) /ˈθrɪf.ti/ >< /ˈstɪn.dʒi/

🔸 careful about spending money and avoiding waste → tiết kiệm; biết chắt chiu >< 🔸 unwilling to spend or give money → keo kiệt; bủn xỉn

Frugal >< parsimonious (adj) /ˈfruː.ɡəl/ >< /ˌpɑː.sɪˈməʊ.ni.əs/

🔸 careful to use money and resources without waste → tiết kiệm; giản dị >< 🔸 extremely unwilling to spend money → cực kỳ keo kiệt; bủn xỉn

Diligent >< work-obsessed (adj) /ˈdɪl.ɪ.dʒənt/ >< /ˈwɜːk əbˌsest/

🔸 working hard and carefully → chăm chỉ; siêng năng; cần cù >< 🔸 thinking about or focusing excessively on work → ám ảnh bởi công việc; quá chú trọng công việc

Idealistic >< dogmatic (adj) /ˌaɪ.di.əˈlɪs.tɪk/ >< /dɒɡˈmæt.ɪk/

🔸 having strong beliefs about how things should be → lý tưởng; duy tâm >< 🔸 refusing to consider other opinions or possibilities → giáo điều; độc đoán

Principled >< inflexible (adj) /ˈprɪn.sə.pəld/ >< /ɪnˈflek.sə.bəl/

🔸 having strong moral standards and following them → có nguyên tắc; chính trực >< 🔸 unwilling or unable to change → cứng nhắc; không linh hoạt

Shrewd >< cunning (adj) /ʃruːd/ >< /ˈkʌn.ɪŋ/

🔸 having good judgment and practical intelligence → sắc sảo; khôn ngoan >< 🔸 clever at achieving things through dishonest or indirect methods → xảo quyệt; ranh mãnh

Astute >< sly (adj) /əˈstjuːt/ >< /slaɪ/

🔸 very clever at understanding situations and making good judgments → sắc sảo; tinh tường >< 🔸 clever in a dishonest or secretive way → ranh mãnh; láu cá

Sober >< morose (adj) /ˈsəʊ.bər/ >< /məˈrəʊs/

(điềm tĩnh, nghiêm túc, tích cực/trung tính) >< (ủ rũ, cau có, tiêu cực)

Serious >< sullen (adj) /ˈsɪə.ri.əs/ >< /ˈsʌl.ən/

🔸 not joking or playful; thoughtful and earnest → nghiêm túc; đứng đắn >< 🔸 silent and bad-tempered because you are unhappy → ủ rũ; cau có; hờn dỗi

Witty >< brusque (adj) /ˈwɪt.i/ >< /bruːsk/

🔸 clever and amusing in what you say → hóm hỉnh; dí dỏm >< 🔸 very brief and direct in a way that seems rude → cộc lốc; cụt ngủn

Pithy >< terse (adj) /ˈpɪθ.i/ >< /tɜːs/

(súc tích, ngắn gọn mà sâu sắc) >< (cộc lốc, ngắn gọn đến mức khô khan hoặc có vẻ khó chịu)

Tolerant >< unprincipled (adj) /ˈtɒl.ər.ənt/ >< /ʌnˈprɪn.sə.pəld/

🔸 accepting differences in opinions or behavior → khoan dung; rộng lượng >< 🔸 not guided by moral principles → vô nguyên tắc; không có đạo đức

Open-minded >< unscrupulous (adj) /ˌəʊ.pənˈmaɪn.dɪd/ >< /ʌnˈskruː.pjə.ləs/

🔸 willing to consider different ideas and opinions → cởi mở; có tư duy thoáng >< 🔸 willing to behave dishonestly to achieve your goals → vô đạo đức; bất chấp thủ đoạn

Chatty >< verbose (adj) /ˈtʃæt.i/ >< /vɜːˈbəʊs/

🔸 talking a lot in a friendly way → hay nói chuyện; nói nhiều một cách thân thiện >< 🔸 using more words than necessary → dài dòng; rườm rà

Talkative >< garrulous (adj) /ˈtɔː.kə.tɪv/ >< /ˈɡær.ə.ləs/

(nói nhiều, hoạt ngôn, mang tính tự nhiên hoặc giao tiếp thông thường) >< (nói lắm, ba hoa, luyên thuyên về những chuyện vụn vặt, thường gây phiền toái)