Definition

1. Verb:
   • To disguise oneself: To deliberately change one's appearance, clothing, or manner in order to conceal one's identity and avoid being recognized by others.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Để trốn tránh, hắn đã cải dạng làm một người bán hàng rong. (To hide, he disguised himself as a street vendor.)
  • Cô ấy cải dạng thành một ông lão để lẻn vào thành. (She disguised herself as an old man to sneak into the city.)
  • Nhân vật chính trong phim thường xuyên phải cải dạng. (The main character in the film often has to disguise himself.)

Advanced Usage

• The verb "cải dạng" inherently implies a transformation intended for deception or secrecy. It is often used in contexts of espionage, evasion, or infiltration.
• It can be used with the preposition "làm" or "thành" (as) to specify the identity or role being assumed, e.g., (to disguise oneself as a merchant).

Variants and Related Words

• Cải trang (v): A near-synonym meaning to disguise or camouflage oneself, often used interchangeably with .
  • Tên trộm cải trang thành nhân viên vệ sinh. (The thief disguised himself as a janitor.)

Synonyms

• Disguise: To alter appearance to conceal identity.
• Masquerade: To pretend to be someone else, often involving a disguise.
• Conceal one's identity: A more descriptive phrase for the same action.

Related Idioms

• While "cải dạng" itself is not typically part of a fixed idiom, the concept is central to phrases like:
  • "Cáo già cải dạng": (A sly old fox in disguise) – Used to describe a cunning person who hides their true nature or intentions behind a false appearance.

verb

1. To disguise oneself
   • cải dạng làm ông già
     to disguise oneself as an old man