Definition

1. Verb:
   • To fasten, to bind, to tie securely: To secure an object by wrapping and tying it multiple times in various directions, often crisscrossed, to ensure it is held very tightly and will not come loose.
   • To pinch, to appropriate, to use without permission: (Colloquial) To take or use someone else's property casually, without asking or without intending to return it. Often implies a minor, opportunistic act.

Usage Examples

• Verb (to fasten):
  • Anh ấy chằng mấy thùng hàng lên nóc xe thật chắc. (He fastened the crates onto the car roof very securely.)
  • Phải chằng cái lều lại kẻo gió thổi bay. (We must tie the tent down or the wind will blow it away.)
• Verb (to appropriate):
  • Nó lại chằng cái bút của tôi rồi. (He pinched my pen again.)
  • Đừng có tiêu chằng tiền của công ty. (Don't go spending the company's money without permission.)

Advanced Usage

• The action of "chằng" (fastening) typically involves a network of ropes or straps, not a single, neat tie. It emphasizes security over neatness.
• When used in the sense of appropriation, "chằng" often follows another verb to form a compound (e.g., , , ). It carries a tone of mild reproach for inconsiderate behavior rather than serious theft.

Variants and Related Words

• Chằng chịt (adj): Densely crisscrossed; tangled (like a net, roots, or veins).
  • Dây điện chằng chịt trên cột. (Wires are densely crisscrossed on the pole.)
• Vá chằng vá đụp (idiomatic verb phrase): To patch something many times over, in a rough and ready manner with overlapping patches.
  • Cái quần được vá chằng vá đụp. (The pants were patched up haphazardly.)

Synonyms

• To fasten: To tie, to bind, to lash, to secure.
• To appropriate: To pinch (colloquial), to swipe (colloquial), to borrow without asking.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Ăn chằng vay bữa (vay bửa): To live hand-to-mouth by eating others' food or borrowing for each meal; to live by one's wits without stable means.
  • Cuộc sống của anh ấy cứ ăn chằng vay bữa. (His life is just a hand-to-mouth existence.)
• Nhận chằng: To claim something as one's own when it is not.
  • Ai cho phép cậu nhận chằng cái ghế này? (Who said you could claim this chair as yours?)

verb

1. To fasten, to bind, to tie securely
   • chằng gói hàng sau xe đạp
     to fasten a parcel behind one's bicycle (on one's bicycle carrier)
   • buộc sơ cũng được, không cần phải chằng kỹ
     just tie it cursorily, no need to fasten it
   • vá chằng vá đụp
     patched many times over, mended with overlapping patches
2. To pinch, to use without permission
   • chằng cái bút của bạn
     to pinch one's friend's pen
   • tiêu chằng
     to spend (someone's money) without his permission
   • nhận chằng
     to claim (something) not one's own
   • ăn chằng vay bữa
     to eat food not one's own; to borrow money for each meal, to live by one's wits