Definition

1. Verb:
   • To dress up smartly or elegantly, to adorn oneself: "chưng diện" refers to the act of dressing in fine, stylish, or showy clothes, often to make a good impression or to display one's taste and status.
   • To decorate or furnish something in a showy, elegant manner: It can also describe decorating a place (like a house) in a way that is intended to be impressive or ostentatious.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Cô ấy thích chưng diện mỗi khi đi dự tiệc. (She likes to dress up smartly whenever she goes to a party.)
  • Căn nhà được chưng diện rất lộng lẫy cho đám cưới. (The house was decorated very splendidly for the wedding.)

Advanced Usage

• "chưng diện lòe loẹt": to dress or decorate in a gaudy, flashy manner.
  • Phong cách chưng diện lòe loẹt đó không phù hợp với buổi lễ trang trọng. (That gaudy way of dressing is not suitable for the formal ceremony.)

Variants and Related Words

• Diện (verb): to dress stylishly, to wear fashionable clothes. This is a more common, colloquial synonym.
  • Hôm nay anh ấy diện bộ vest rất đẹp. (Today he is wearing a very nice suit.)
• Trang điểm (verb): to apply makeup. This is often part of the process of "chưng diện".
• Trang hoàng (verb): to decorate, to adorn (typically for a space). This is related to the decorative sense of "chưng diện".

Synonyms

• Ăn mặc đẹp: to dress beautifully/well.
• Làm đẹp: to beautify, to make oneself/ something look beautiful.
• Khoe mẽ: to show off (can have a more negative connotation than "chưng diện").

Related Phrases

• Chưng diện hàng hiệu: to dress in/show off designer brands.
  • Cô ấy chỉ thích chưng diện toàn hàng hiệu. (She only likes to dress up in designer brands.)

Related Idioms

• "Tốt gỗ hơn tốt nước sơn": Literally "Good wood is better than good paint." This proverb suggests that inner quality is more important than outward appearance, and can be used to contrast with superficial "chưng diện".
  • Đừng chỉ chú trọng chưng diện bên ngoài, hãy nhớ "tốt gỗ hơn tốt nước sơn". (Don't just focus on dressing up on the outside, remember "substance is more important than style".)

1. Showing off, swanky (in one's way of dressing, or decoration)
   • ăn mặc chưng diện
     to sport swanky clothes, to dress for swank
   • nhà cửa chưng diện
     a swanky house