lẻ

[lɛ˧˩]

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Sense 1

Meaning · English

(adjective) odd (not divisible by two)

Register: informal

Where it’s used: Used Toàn quốc & hải ngoại · Vietnam-wide & diaspora

Examples

số lẻan odd number
hàm số lẻan odd function

Wiktionary example (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Sources & notes

Imported from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); community review pending. source ↗

Sense 2

Meaning · English

(adjective) freakish (i.e., an irrational number or a repeating decimal)

Register: informal

Examples

Không được rồi cô ơi. Em chia ra số lẻ lắm.It's not good ma'am. I got a very freakish result from the division.
[Đỗ Xuân Nhi:] “a mẹ mua 10 m vải, mẹ đã dùng hết 1/3 số vải đó . hỏi mẹ còn lại ? mét vải [...]” [Huỳnh Thị Minh Huyền:] “a)số lẻ lắm bạn ơi [...]”[Đỗ Xuân Nhi:] “a[)] Mom bought 10 meters of fabric, and then she used up one third of that amount; how many meters of fabric does she have left?” [Huỳnh Thị Minh Huyền:] “a) mate, [the answer is] a very freakish number.”

Wiktionary example (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Sense 3

Meaning · English

(adjective) of a low value less than or equal to 20,000 dongs

Register: informal

Examples

tiền lẻchange

Wiktionary example (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Sense 4

Meaning · English

(adverb) alone rather than with other people

Register: informal

Examples

Thằng khỉ! Hôm qua mày đánh lẻ hả?Hey bastard! Did you go without us yesterday?

Wiktionary example (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Common questions

What does “lẻ” mean?

(adjective) odd (not divisible by two)

Is “lẻ” formal or informal?

lẻ is generally informal.