Definition

1. Number / Classifier:
   • A group of ten; a ten: Used to group or count items in sets of ten. It functions similarly to "ten" or "a ten" but is used specifically as a counting unit.
   • Approximately ten; a dozen: In informal contexts, especially in commerce for certain agricultural products, "chục" can mean a set of twelve (a dozen) or another number close to ten (e.g., 14), depending on regional or customary practice.

Usage Examples

• As a precise group of ten:

  • Mẹ mua ba chục trứng. (Mom bought three tens of eggs / thirty eggs.)
  • Một chục bút chì là mười cái. (One "chục" of pencils is ten pieces.)

• As an approximate or customary group (often more than ten):

  • Ở chợ này, một chục trứng thường là mười hai quả. (In this market, one "chục" of eggs is usually twelve.)
  • Tôi mua một chục xoài được mười bốn trái. (I bought one "chục" of mangoes and got fourteen fruits.)

Advanced Usage

• "hàng chục": tens of; dozens of. Used to indicate a large, indefinite number in multiples of ten.
  • Dự án đã thu hút hàng chục nhà đầu tư. (The project has attracted tens of investors.)
  • Hàng chục nghìn người đã tham dự. (Tens of thousands of people attended.)

Variants and Related Words

• Mười: The cardinal number "ten". "Chục" is the grouping unit derived from it.
• Tá: A direct loanword for "dozen" (twelve), used for different types of goods, often more modern or imported items.

Synonyms

• Ten (when used precisely as a set of ten).
• Dozen (when used to mean a set of twelve).
• A group of ten.

Related Idioms

• Chục lần như một: Used to describe something that happens repeatedly, over and over again. Literally suggests "ten times as one".
  • Anh ấy mắc lỗi đó chục lần như một. (He makes that mistake over and over again.)

number

1. Ten
   • ba chục cam
     three tens of oranges, thirty oranges
   • hàng chục vạn người
     tens of thousands of men, hundreds of thousands of men