Definition

1. Verb:
   • To dissuade from doing something: To actively advise or persuade someone not to do a particular action or to abandon an intention.
   • To prevent, to hinder: To take action to stop something from happening or to obstruct a course of action.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Tôi cố gắng can ngăn anh ấy không nên đầu tư vào dự án mạo hiểm đó. (I tried to dissuade him from investing in that risky project.)
  • Cảnh sát đã kịp thời can ngăn vụ ẩu đả. (The police promptly prevented the brawl.)
  • Không ai có thể can ngăn cô ấy khi cô đã quyết định. (No one could dissuade her once she had made up her mind.)

Advanced Usage

• "can ngăn không cho ai làm gì": to dissuade/prevent someone from doing something.
  • Mẹ tôi luôn can ngăn tôi không cho tôi đi du lịch một mình. (My mother always dissuades me from traveling alone.)

Variants and Related Words

• Can (verb): to advise against, to counsel.
  • Anh ấy can tôi đừng nên tin lời người lạ. (He advised me not to trust strangers' words.)
• Ngăn cản (verb): to prevent, to obstruct, to hinder. (This is a close synonym, often used interchangeably with "can ngăn" but can imply a stronger, more physical obstruction).
  • Họ đã tìm cách ngăn cản thảm họa. (They sought ways to prevent the disaster.)
• Ngăn chặn (verb): to stop, to block, to prevent (often used for stopping negative events or processes).
  • Chính phủ có biện pháp ngăn chặn dịch bệnh lây lan. (The government has measures to stop the disease from spreading.)

Synonyms

• Khuyên can (verb): to advise against, to counsel (emphasizes the advising aspect).
• Phản đối (verb): to oppose, to object (can be a form of dissuasion through opposition).
• Cản trở (verb): to hinder, to impede (focuses on creating obstacles).

Related Phrases

• Lời can ngăn (noun phrase): words of dissuasion, a dissuasive advice.
  • Mọi lời can ngăn của bạn bè đều vô ích. (All words of dissuasion from friends were useless.)
• Can ngăn kịp thời (verb phrase): to dissuade/prevent in a timely manner.
  • Nhờ can ngăn kịp thời, một tai nạn đã được tránh khỏi. (Thanks to timely intervention, an accident was avoided.)

1. To dissuade from doing something