Definition

1. Verb:
   • To cut or slash (with a blade): To strike or wound with a sharp, heavy blade like a sword, machete, or axe, typically with great force.
   • To overcharge / to rip off (colloquial): To charge a customer an excessively high and unfair price, often exploiting their lack of knowledge or necessity.

Usage Examples

• Verb (to cut):
  • Kẻ cướp dùng dao chém nạn nhân. (The robber used a knife to slash the victim.)
  • Trong truyện, hiệp sĩ chém đứt đầu con rồng. (In the story, the knight cut off the dragon's head.)
• Verb (to overcharge):
  • Khách du lịch thường bị chém giá ở chợ này. (Tourists often get ripped off on prices at this market.)
  • Cái áo này chỉ đáng 200 nghìn, họ chém tôi tới 500 nghìn. (This shirt is only worth 200 thousand dong, they stung me for 500 thousand.)

Advanced Usage

• "chém gió" (slang): Literally "to chop the wind," it means to talk boastfully, to brag, or to engage in exaggerated, informal conversation, often for fun.
  • Họ ngồi quán cà phê chém gió cả buổi tối. (They sat at the coffee shop shooting the breeze all evening.)

Variants and Related Words

• Chém đầu (verb phrase): To behead, to decapitate.
  • Tên bạo chúa ra lệnh chém đầu kẻ phản nghịch. (The tyrant ordered the rebel to be beheaded.)
• Xử chém (verb phrase): To execute by beheading (historically, by guillotine or sword).
  • Án tử hình thời xưa thường là xử chém. (The death penalty in ancient times was often execution by beheading.)

Synonyms

• To cut / to slash: To make an incision or wound with a sharp tool.
• To overcharge / to fleece: To charge too much money.

Related Idioms

• Chém to kho mặn: Literally "to chop big pieces and stew salty," meaning to speak or act in a blunt, straightforward, and unrefined manner, prioritizing substance over style or politeness.
  • Ông ấy nói chuyện kiểu chém to kho mặn, nhưng rất thật thà. (He talks in a blunt, no-frills way, but he is very honest.)
• Chém tre không dè đầu mặt: Literally "to chop bamboo without regard for the nodes," meaning to act without consideration for others' feelings or the consequences, often recklessly.
  • Anh ta phê bình chém tre không dè đầu mặt khiến ai cũng bực mình. (He criticized everyone without any tact, which upset everybody.)
• Cãi nhau như chém chả: Literally "to argue like chopping (pork paste)," meaning to argue violently, loudly, and with great intensity.
  • Hai hàng xóm cãi nhau như chém chả về chuyện lấn đất. (The two neighbors argued fiercely about the land encroachment.)

verb

1. To cut (with a sword..), to guillotine
   • chém đầu
     to cut off (someone's) head
   • xử chém
     to execute by the guillotine
2. To sting, to stick it on
   • chỉ đáng một đồng mà bị chém ba đồng
     to be stung for three dong for something worth one dong
   • quán này chém tợn
     this inn sticks it on
   • chém to kho mặn
     to attach more importance to substance than to form
   • chém tre không dè đầu mặt
     to do something with little regard for the feeling of the people concerned
3. chêm

verb

1. To wedge
   • chêm cán cuốc
     to wedge a hoe handle
2. To cut in
   • ngồi nghe thỉnh thoảng chêm vào một câu
     to listen and cut in from time to time with a sentence

noun

1. Wedge