Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Burdened, encumbered, tied down: Describes a state of being weighed down or hindered by responsibilities, attachments, or physical entanglements, often leading to a lack of freedom or mobility.
   • Wrapped up in, preoccupied with: Describes being fully occupied or absorbed by something, typically caregiving duties or demanding relationships, to the point where one has little time for anything else.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Suốt ngày bìu díu với đàn con nhỏ, cô ấy chẳng có thời gian cho bản thân. (Wrapped up in her band of small children the whole day, she has no time for herself.)
  • Anh ấy cảm thấy bìu díu vì những món nợ chồng chất. (He feels burdened by the mounting debts.)
  • Công việc gia đình bìu díu khiến tôi không thể đi du lịch xa. (Being tied down by household chores prevents me from traveling far.)

Advanced Usage

• "bìu díu vợ con": burdened by wife and children; tied down by family responsibilities.
  • Sau khi kết hôn, anh ta trở nên bìu díu vợ con. (After getting married, he became tied down by his wife and children.)
• "bìu díu công việc": bogged down with work; preoccupied with work duties.
  • Dự án mới khiến cả nhóm bìu díu công việc cả tháng nay. (The new project has kept the whole team bogged down with work for a month.)

Variants and Related Words

• Bận bịu (adj): Busy, tied up (with tasks). Often used interchangeably with "bìu díu" but can imply being busy without the same strong connotation of being weighed down.
  • Cô ấy bận bịu với công việc ở cơ quan. (She is busy with work at the office.)
• Vướng víu (adj): Entangled, obstructed. More literal, referring to physical entanglement or figurative obstacles.
  • Sợi dây bị vướng víu vào cành cây. (The string got entangled in the tree branch.)

Synonyms

• Gánh nặng (n): Burden, load. A noun describing the thing that causes the encumbrance.
• Ràng buộc (v/n): To bind/to tie; bond/obligation. Refers to ties or obligations that restrict freedom.
• Quẩn quanh (v): To be stuck around, to hover around. Implies being stuck in a limited scope of activity or location.

Related Phrases

• "Đầu tắt mặt tối": (Idiom) Literally "head off, face dark"; meaning extremely busy from morning till night, overwhelmed with work.
  • Mùa vụ khiến người nông dân đầu tắt mặt tối. (The harvest season keeps farmers extremely busy from dawn till dusk.)
• "Chân ướt chân ráo": (Idiom) Literally "one foot wet, one foot dry"; used to describe a newlywed, often implying the beginning of being "bìu díu" with new family duties.
  • Chân ướt chân ráo đã phải lo toan việc nhà. (Freshly married and already having to worry about household chores.)

Related Idioms

• "Một nắng hai sương": (Idiom) Literally "one sun, two dews"; describes a life of hard labor and hardship, often leading to a state of being burdened ("bìu díu") by toil.
  • Cuộc sống một nắng hai sương của người nông dân. (The hard, toiling life of a farmer.)

adj

1. Wrapped up in
   • suốt ngày bìu díu với đàn con nhỏ
     she is wrapped up in her band of small children the whole day