Definition

1. Verb:
   • To interrupt someone while they are speaking: The act of speaking before another person has finished their sentence or thought, thereby breaking the flow of their speech.
   • To cut in (during a conversation): To interject or speak out of turn in a discussion or dialogue.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Xin đừng cắt lời tôi. (Please don't interrupt me.)
  • Anh ấy thường xuyên cắt lời người khác khi họ đang nói. (He frequently cuts in when others are talking.)
  • Cô giáo nhắc học sinh không được cắt lời bạn. (The teacher reminded the students not to interrupt their classmates.)

Advanced Usage

• "cắt ngang lời": A slightly more emphatic variant meaning to cut someone off mid-sentence.
  • Anh ta cắt ngang lời tôi một cách thô lỗ. (He rudely cut me off mid-sentence.)

Variants and Related Words

• Ngắt lời (verb): A near-synonym meaning to interrupt or break someone's speech. The nuance can be slightly less abrupt than "cắt lời."
  • Tôi xin lỗi vì đã ngắt lời bạn. (I'm sorry for interrupting you.)
• Làm gián đoạn (verb phrase): To cause an interruption, which can be used in broader contexts beyond speech.
  • Tiếng ồn làm gián đoạn buổi thuyết trình. (The noise interrupted the presentation.)

Synonyms

• Interject: To say something suddenly, especially to interrupt.
• Butt in: (Informal) To interrupt a conversation or activity impolitely.

Related Phrases

• Cắt ngang cuộc nói chuyện: To cut into/interrupt a conversation.
  • Cô ấy cắt ngang cuộc nói chuyện của chúng tôi. (She cut into our conversation.)

Related Idioms

• "Không ai cắt ngang được": An idiom meaning "no one can interrupt" or "uninterruptible," often used to describe a determined speaker or an ongoing process.
  • Khi anh ấy đã nói, không ai cắt ngang được. (When he starts speaking, no one can get a word in edgewise / interrupt him.)

1. Cut in, interupt