bẻ gãy

Cậu bé vô tình bẻ gãy cái bút chì.

Definition

1. Verb:
   • To break by bending or snapping: To cause something long, thin, or slender to separate into pieces by applying force, typically with the hands, resulting in a fracture or snap.
   • To break, to shatter (figurative): To stop, defeat, or destroy something non-physical, such as a plan, attack, or spirit.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Cậu bé vô tình bẻ gãy cái bút chì. (The boy accidentally broke the pencil.)
  • Không nên bẻ gãy cành cây. (You shouldn't break the tree branch.)
  • Quân đội đã bẻ gãy cuộc tấn công của địch. (The army broke the enemy's attack.)
  • Lời từ chối đó bẻ gãy hy vọng của anh ấy. (That refusal shattered his hope.)

Advanced Usage

• "bẻ gãy ý chí": to break someone's will, to demoralize.

  • Những đòn tra tấn nhằm bẻ gãy ý chí của tù nhân. (The torture was meant to break the prisoner's will.)

• "bẻ gãy thế độc quyền": to break a monopoly.

  • Công ty mới thành lập đang cố gắng bẻ gãy thế độc quyền trên thị trường. (The newly established company is trying to break the monopoly in the market.)

Variants and Related Words

• Bẻ (verb): to bend, to break off (a part of something). Often implies a deliberate action with the hands.

  • bẻ bánh mì (to break bread)

• Gãy (verb, adjective): to be broken, snapped; broken.

  • cái que bị gãy (the stick is broken)

• Bẻ đôi (verb phrase): to break in half, to snap in two.

  • Anh ta bẻ đôi thanh gỗ. (He broke the wooden stick in two.)

Synonyms

• Làm gãy: to cause to break.
• Bóp gãy: to crush/break by squeezing (often for smaller, brittle items).
• Đập gãy: to break by hitting or striking.
• Chặn đứng (figurative): to halt, to stop (e.g., an attack).

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

Note: As a compound verb, 'bẻ gãy' itself functions as a phrasal verb. Its components are rarely separated in modern usage.

Related Idioms

• "Bẻ gãy sừng trâu": (Literally: to break a buffalo's horn) An idiom indicating an act of great strength or defiance, or to tackle a very difficult challenge.
  • Anh ấy có sức khỏe có thể bẻ gãy sừng trâu. (He has the strength to break a buffalo's horn.)