Definition

1. Verb:
   • To bud, to begin, to start to appear: "chớm" describes the very initial stage of a process, development, or state, when something is just starting to happen or become noticeable. It emphasizes the incipient, nascent, or budding phase.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Tình yêu mới chớm. (A love is just beginning / Budding love.)
  • Hoa chớm nở. (The flowers are starting to bloom.)
  • Trời chớm lạnh. (The weather is beginning to get cold.)
  • Chớm có bệnh dịch. (An epidemic is starting / There is an incipient epidemic.)

Advanced Usage

• "chớm nở": to begin to bloom; often used metaphorically for talents, feelings, or ideas starting to develop.
  • Tài năng của cậu ấy mới chỉ chớm nở. (His talent is just beginning to blossom.)
• "chớm thu": the very beginning of autumn.
  • Tiết trời chớm thu thật dễ chịu. (The weather at the start of autumn is very pleasant.)

Variants and Related Words

• Mới chớm (phrase): just beginning, in its very early stages.
  • Công việc mới chớm đã gặp khó khăn. (The work, just having begun, already encountered difficulties.)

Synonyms

• Bắt đầu: to begin, to start (more general and common).
• Khởi đầu: to commence, to initiate (more formal).
• Manh nha: to sprout, to germinate (often for abstract concepts like ideas or trends).

Notes on Meaning

• "Chớm" specifically conveys a sense of something being or of a state. It is not used for actions with a clear endpoint but for processes and changes of state (like getting cold, blooming, falling in love).
• It often carries a subtle, delicate, or gentle connotation, suitable for describing natural phenomena or subtle emotional beginnings.

verb

1. To bud, to begin
   • tình yêu mới chớm
     budding love
   • hoa chớm nở
     a budding flower
   • trời chớm lạnh
     it began to get cold
   • chớm có bệnh dịch
     an epidemic has begun, there is an incipient epidemic