Definition

1. Verb:
   • To smear, to daub, to stain (generally): To spread a substance (like paint, makeup, dirt) carelessly or thickly over a surface, often resulting in a messy or grotesque appearance.
   • To perform carelessly, to do in a slapdash/perfunctory manner: To execute a task hastily and without proper care or attention to detail, resulting in a poor or shoddy outcome.

Usage Examples

• Verb (to smear):
  • Bôi bác mặt mày để đóng vai hề. (To smear one's face and act as a clown.)
  • Tác phẩm bôi bác cuộc sống với dụng ý xấu. (The work smears life with bad intentions.)
• Verb (to perform carelessly):
  • Làm vội vàng như thế, chỉ bôi bác ra thôi. (Working so hastily is just doing it in a slapdash way.)
  • Viết bôi bác mấy chữ cho xong. (To scribble down a few words in a perfunctory way.)

Advanced Usage

• The word often carries a strong negative connotation of disrespect for the object being smeared or the task being performed. It implies a lack of seriousness, skill, or respect.
• It can be used metaphorically to describe the act of tarnishing or defaming something abstract, like a reputation or an ideal.

Variants and Related Words

• Bôi (v): To apply, to smear, to spread (a substance). This is the root verb, while intensifies the meaning with carelessness or excess.
• Cẩu thả (adj): Sloppy, careless, negligent. Often used together with to emphasize poor quality.
  • Không tha thứ lối làm ăn bôi bác cẩu thả. (The careless, perfunctory style of work should not be tolerated.)

Synonyms

• To smear / to daub: To spread a substance messily.
• To bungle / to botch: To carry out a task clumsily or incompetently.
• To scribble: To write carelessly and hastily.
• To perform perfunctorily: To do something with minimal effort or care.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Làm bôi bác: To work in a slapdash manner. This is a common collocation.
• Bôi bác công việc: To bungle the job; to do the work carelessly.

verb

1. To smear, to stain (nói khái quát)
   • bôi bác mặt mày để đóng vai hề
     to smear one's face and act as a clown; to make up one's face grotesquely for a clown's part
   • tác phẩm bôi bác cuộc sống với dụng ý xấu rõ rệt
     the work smears life with an obvious bad intention
2. To perform carelessly, to do by halves
   • làm vội vàng như thế, chỉ bôi bác ra thôi
     to do one's work so hastily is to do it by halves
   • viết bôi bác mấy chữ cho xong
     to scribble down a few words in a perfunctory way
   • không tha thứ lối làm ăn bôi bác cẩu thả
     the careless, perfunctory style of work should not be tolerated