Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Describing lips: Having a thin, neat, and distinct outline or border, often specifically referring to lips that are naturally or artificially outlined with a fine line of color, traditionally from betel juice.
   • Describing lines: Drawn or formed with extreme neatness, precision, and sharp definition, like a perfectly ruled line.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Đôi môi cắn chỉ của cô ấy trông thật duyên dáng. (Her neatly outlined lips look very graceful.)
  • Người thợ kẻ một đường cắn chỉ trên tường. (The worker draws a perfectly neat line on the wall.)

Advanced Usage

• Used to describe aesthetic perfection in traditional beauty standards, often associated with the delicate application of betel nut juice to outline the lips.
• Can be used metaphorically to describe any boundary, edge, or line that is exceptionally sharp, clear, and precise.

Variants and Related Words

• Chỉ (n): Thread. In this idiom, it metaphorically refers to something as fine and straight as a thread.
• Kẻ chỉ (v): To rule a line. This is the action, while describes the perfect result of that action.

Synonyms

• Rõ nét: Clear-cut, well-defined.
• Sắc nét: Sharp, distinct.
• Gọn gàng: Neat, tidy (more general).

Related Idioms

• Môi cắn chỉ, mày lá liễu: A traditional poetic description of ideal feminine beauty, meaning "neatly outlined lips, willow-leaf eyebrows." It emphasizes delicate and refined features.
  • Trong thơ ca, người con gái đẹp thường có "môi cắn chỉ, mày lá liễu". (In poetry, a beautiful woman often has "neatly outlined lips and willow-leaf eyebrows.")

1. (nói về môi) Pencilled with betel juice
   • cô gái ăn trầu, môi cắn chỉ
     that girl who chews betel has lips pencilled with its juice
2. nói về đường nét) Neatly pencilled
   • kẻ cho thật cắn chỉ
     to draw a neatly pencilled line