Definition

1. Noun:

   • Lead: A soft, heavy, malleable, bluish-gray metallic element with a low melting point, used in various applications such as batteries, radiation shielding, and formerly in pipes and paints.
   • Sinker, weight: A small piece of lead or other heavy material attached to a fishing net or line to make it sink.

2. Adjective:

   • Lead-colored, livid: Having a dull, bluish-gray color resembling that of lead, often used to describe an unhealthy complexion.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Lead):

  • Chì là một kim loại độc hại. (Lead is a toxic metal.)
  • Bức tường này được sơn bằng sơn có chì. (This wall was painted with lead-based paint.)

• Noun (Sinker):

  • Ngư dân buộc chì vào lưới để nó chìm xuống. (The fisherman attached sinkers to the net to make it sink.)

• Adjective (Lead-colored):

  • Sau cơn sốt, mặt anh ấy trông bủng da chì. (After the fever, his face looked pale and livid.)

Advanced Usage

• "mặt bủng da chì": An idiom describing a face that is pale, sallow, or sickly, with a leaden, unhealthy complexion.

  • Cô ấy thức trắng đêm nên sáng nay mặt bủng da chì. (She stayed up all night, so this morning her face was pale and ashen.)

• "nhẹ như bấc, nặng như chì": A proverb meaning "as light as tinder, as heavy as lead," used to describe inconsistent behavior that is sometimes very gentle and sometimes very harsh.

  • Ông chủ ấy đối xử với nhân viên nhẹ như bấc, nặng như chì. (That boss treats his employees inconsistently, sometimes very gently, sometimes very harshly.)

• "tiếng bấc tiếng chì": An idiom referring to gossip or talk that is sometimes delicate/sweet ("bấc") and sometimes sharp/critical ("chì"), i.e., mixed or inconsistent opinions from others.

  • Cô ấy không quan tâm đến tiếng bấc tiếng chì của hàng xóm. (She doesn't care about the mixed gossip from the neighbors.)

Variants and Related Words

• Buộc chì / Cạp chì / Cặp chì (verb phrases): To seal with a lead seal; to weight something with lead. (Note: These are compound verb phrases where "chì" is the object).
• Bộ chì lưới (noun phrase): A set of sinkers for a net.
• Chì màu / Bút chì màu (compound noun): Colored pencil. (This is a distinct compound word where "chì" refers to the pencil core).
• Bút chì (compound noun): Pencil. (This is a distinct compound word where "chì" refers to the graphite core).

Synonyms

• Kim loại nặng: Heavy metal (in the context of the element).
• Vật nặng, quả lặn: Weight, sinker (in the fishing context).
• Xám xịt, tái mét: Ashen, pallid (for the adjective meaning).

Related Idioms

• "mất cả chì lẫn chài": An idiom meaning "to lose both the sinkers and the nets," i.e., to lose everything, to suffer a total loss (capital and interest).
  • Vụ đầu tư thất bại, anh ta mất cả chì lẫn chài. (The investment failed, and he lost everything.)

noun

1. Lead
2. Sinker
   • mất cả chì lẫn chài
     to lose lock, stock and barrel