Definition

1. Verb:
   • To peel: To remove the outer skin or covering from a fruit or vegetable.
   • To shell / to husk: To remove the hard outer layer from nuts, seeds, or some grains.
   • To open / to unseal: To remove the wrapping or sealed cover from an object, such as an envelope or a package.
   • To strip off / to remove: To detach or take off a layer or covering that is adhered to a surface.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Chị ấy đang bóc một quả cam. (She is peeling an orange.)
  • Chúng tôi ngồi bóc lạc. (We sat shelling peanuts.)
  • Anh ấy bóc phong bì thư một cách cẩn thận. (He carefully opened the envelope.)
  • Công nhân phải bóc lớp vữa cũ ra. (The workers had to strip off the old plaster.)

Advanced Usage

• "bóc lột": to exploit.
  • Chế độ đó bóc lột sức lao động của người dân. (That regime exploited the labor of the people.)
• "bóc mẽ" / "lột mặt nạ": to expose, to unmask (someone's true nature or a secret).
  • Bài báo đã bóc mẽ những hành vi tham nhũng. (The article exposed the corrupt practices.)

Variants and Related Words

• Bóc vỏ (v): to peel, to shell (emphasizes removing a shell or peel).
  • Bóc vỏ trứng luộc. (To peel a boiled egg.)
• Bóc tem (v, colloquial): literally "to peel the stamp"; used humorously to mean using something for the first time.
  • Hôm nay tôi mới bóc tem chiếc điện thoại mới. (Today I used my new phone for the first time.)

Synonyms

• Peel: to remove the skin of a fruit or vegetable.
• Shell: to remove the hard outer case of a nut or egg.
• Open: to remove a seal or wrapping.
• Remove: to take off.

Related Idioms

• Bóc ngắn cắn dài: (lit. to peel short, bite long) To spend more than one earns; to live beyond one's means.
  • Tiêu xài hoang phí sẽ dẫn đến tình trạng bóc ngắn cắn dài. (Wasteful spending leads to living beyond one's means.)

verb

1. to peel ; to skin; to husk