Definition

1. Verb:
   • To bewitch; to cast a spell on: To use magic, charms, or sorcery to exert a harmful or controlling influence over someone or something, often based on superstition.
   • To exorcize; to ward off: To perform rituals or use magic to drive away evil spirits, ghosts, or malevolent forces.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Người ta nói mụ phù thủy đó biết cách ếm người. (People say that witch knows how to bewitch people.)
  • Thầy pháp được mời đến để ếm ma quỷ trong ngôi nhà cũ. (The sorcerer was invited to exorcize evil spirits from the old house.)
  • Theo mê tín, họ tin bà ấy bị ếm nên gặp nhiều xui xẻo. (Superstitiously, they believe she has been bewitched, hence her streak of bad luck.)

Advanced Usage

• "ếm bùa": to cast a spell using a charm/talisman.
  • Kẻ thù được cho là đã ếm bùa để hại gia đình ông ấy. (His enemy was said to have cast a spell to harm his family.)
• "ếm mả": to cast a spell on a grave (to negate its good geomancy/feng shui).
  • Truyền thuyết kể về kẻ đã ếm mả tổ tiên để phá hủy vận may của dòng họ. (Legends tell of someone who cast a spell on the ancestral grave to destroy the clan's fortune.)

Variants and Related Words

• Yểm (verb): An alternate or literary form with a similar meaning of 'to suppress' or 'to neutralize', often used in compounds like (to cast a spell) or (to support—a different, more common meaning).
• Ếm đối (verb, archaic): To counteract or neutralize (a spell or curse).
• Bùa ếm (noun): A charm or talisman used for bewitching.

Synonyms

• Bỏ bùa: to cast a spell (using a charm).
• Ám: to haunt; to afflict (often by a spirit).
• Trừ tà: to exorcize; to ward off evil.

Related Idioms

• Ếm vía: Literally "to bewitch one's vital spirit". Used to jokingly blame someone's presence for a sudden failure or misfortune.
  • Thôi, đừng đến gần máy móc, kẻo lại bị bảo ếm vía! (Hey, don't go near the machinery, or you'll be accused of jinxing it!)
• Bị ếm: to be under a spell/bewitched.
  • Cậu ấy hành xử kỳ lạ, như thể bị ếm vậy. (He's acting strangely, as if he's been bewitched.)

verb

1. to bewitch; to exorcize
   • ếm ma quỉ
     To exorcize evil spirits and ghosts