Definition

1. Verb:
   • To burn (something) completely; to set ablaze; to incinerate: The primary meaning of "đốt cháy" is to cause something to be consumed by fire, often until it is reduced to ashes or completely destroyed.
   • To bypass stages; to rush through a process: A figurative meaning used to describe accelerating or skipping necessary steps in a development or procedural sequence.

Usage Examples

• Verb (Literal):
  • Họ đốt cháy tất cả tài liệu cũ. (They burned all the old documents.)
  • Lính cứu hỏa đang cố gắng dập tắt đám cháy mà ai đó đã cố tình đốt cháy. (Firefighters are trying to extinguish the blaze that someone intentionally set.)
• Verb (Figurative):
  • Công ty muốn đốt cháy giai đoạn thử nghiệm để sản phẩm ra thị trường sớm. (The company wants to bypass the testing phase to get the product to market early.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase is often used in its literal sense to emphasize complete destruction by fire. Figuratively, it is most commonly seen in the fixed expression "đốt cháy giai đoạn."

Variants and Related Words

• Đốt (v): to burn, to set fire to. This is the base verb, while "đốt cháy" intensifies the meaning to imply complete combustion.
  • Đốt rác (to burn trash)
• Thiêu cháy (v): to burn up; to cremate. A close synonym often used for complete destruction by fire.
  • Ngọn lửa thiêu cháy cả khu rừng. (The fire burned up the entire forest.)

Synonyms

• Incinerate: to destroy by burning.
• Set ablaze: to cause to start burning fiercely.
• Rush through: to do something too quickly (for the figurative sense).

Related Idioms

• Đốt cháy giai đoạn: This is the primary idiomatic expression, meaning "to skip stages," "to rush a process," or "to take shortcuts."
  • Đừng đốt cháy giai đoạn học tập, hãy nắm vững kiến thức cơ bản. (Don't rush through your studies; master the basics.)

1. Set blazing, make burn up
   • Quét lá rụng thành đống và châm lửa đốt
     To sweep dead leaves a heap and set it blazing (make to burn up)
   • Đốt cháy giai đoạn
     To bypass stages (in some process)