Definition

1. Verb:
   • To turn something upside down, to invert: The primary meaning of "úp" is to place an object so that its top or open side faces downwards.
   • To cover by placing something over: "Úp" also means to cover something by placing a concave object (like a bowl, lid, or basket) over it.
   • To ambush, to capture by surprise: In a military or tactical context, "úp" means to attack or capture someone or something suddenly and unexpectedly.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Cô ấy úp bát xuống mâm để cho khô. (She turned the bowls upside down on the tray to let them dry.)
  • Hãy úp vung vào nồi canh. (Please put the lid on the soup pot.)
  • Quân ta đánh úp đồn địch lúc nửa đêm. (Our troops launched a surprise attack on the enemy post at midnight.)

Advanced Usage

• "úp mở": to be ambiguous, to hint at something without saying it directly. (Note: This is a compound word and listed here as advanced usage).
  • Anh ta nói chuyện cứ úp mở, không rõ ràng. (He speaks in an ambiguous, unclear way.)
• "bị úp": to be overturned (e.g., a boat); to be ambushed.
  • Chiếc thuyền bị úp giữa dòng sông. (The boat capsized in the middle of the river.)

Variants and Related Words

• Sụp (verb): to collapse, to fall down (often a structure). This is a different word but can be contextually related in the sense of something turning over or falling.
• Lật úp (verb phrase): to flip/turn over. This phrase emphasizes the flipping action.
  • Lật úp miếng cá trên chảo. (Flip the piece of fish in the pan.)

Synonyms

• Lật ngược: to turn upside down.
• Đậy: to cover (with a lid). While "đậy" is a general term for covering, "úp" implies covering with a concave object.
• Phục kích, tấn công bất ngờ: to ambush, to attack by surprise (for the military meaning).

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Úp sọt (literally: to cover with a basket): to trap, to frame someone, or to cheat in business.
  • Hắn ta bị đối tác úp sọt trong vụ làm ăn. (He was cheated/trapped by his partner in the business deal.)
• Úp bô (slang): to fail spectacularly, especially in an exam or test.
  • Nó úp bô môn toán. (He flunked math completely.)

Related Idioms

• Lấy thúng úp voi: (literally: to use a basket to cover an elephant) to attempt the impossible, to try to hide something too big to conceal.
  • Giấu chuyện đó đi là lấy thúng úp voi thôi. (Trying to hide that matter is like using a basket to cover an elephant—impossible.)

verb

1. to upturn, to turn over