Definition

1. Phrase:
   • To fire into the air / to shoot skyward: The primary meaning of "chỉ thiên" describes the act of discharging a firearm upwards, not aiming at a specific target. It is almost exclusively used in the compound phrase "bắn chỉ thiên".
   • Pointing to the sky: Literally, "chỉ" means to point or indicate, and "thiên" means sky or heaven. Thus, the phrase can be understood as "pointing to the heavens."

Usage Examples

• Phrase:
  • Cảnh sát đã bắn chỉ thiên để cảnh cáo đám đông. (The police fired into the air to warn the crowd.)
  • Lễ cưới truyền thống có nghi thức bắn chỉ thiên. (The traditional wedding has a ritual of firing shots skyward.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase "bắn chỉ thiên" is a fixed idiom. The standalone term "chỉ thiên" is rarely used independently in modern Vietnamese outside of this compound or very specific contexts.
• In a botanical context (as noted in historical dictionaries), "chỉ thiên" can refer to a plant (elephantopus), but this usage is highly specialized and archaic.

Variants and Related Words

• Bắn chỉ thiên (v): The full and standard verb phrase meaning "to fire a gun into the air."
  • Hành động bắn chỉ thiên rất nguy hiểm vì đạn có thể rơi xuống bất cứ đâu. (The act of firing into the air is very dangerous because bullets can fall anywhere.)

Synonyms

• Fire a warning shot: to shoot to warn, not to hit.
• Shoot skyward: to shoot directly upwards.

Related Idioms

• Bắn chỉ thiên is itself the primary idiom. It conveys actions meant for warning, celebration, or demonstration, rather than for causing direct harm to a target.

1. bắn chỉ thiên To fire in the air