vô lí

See also: voli and volí

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

• vô lý

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 無理 (“unreasonable”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [vo˧˧ li˧˦]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [vow˧˧ lɪj˨˩˦]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [vow˧˧ lɪj˦˥] ~ [jow˧˧ lɪj˦˥]

Adjective

vô lí

1. making no sense; nonsensical; impossible; implausible

   Vô lí! Thằng ngu như nó làm sao mà giải bài này được!

   That's ridiculous! How come an idiot like him could solve this one?

2. unreasonable

   Người đâu mà vô lí!

   You're so unreasonable!

Usage notes

• vô lí chiefly means "making no sense". For other nuances that can be conveyed with English absurd, preposterous, ridiculous, ludicrous, laughable, etc., nhảm nhí, vớ vẩn or tào lao should be used.
• Not to be confused with nghịch lí (“something counter-intuitive”).