Definition

1. Verb:
   • To jostle; to crowd; to throng: To move or be positioned in a very tight, cramped, and often disorderly manner within a dense mass of people or things, typically involving pushing and shoving to gain space or position.
   • To be packed tightly together; to be crammed: Describes a state where many people, animals, or objects are pressed closely together in a confined space.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Hàng trăm người chen chúc trong chợ. (Hundreds of people jostled in the market.)
  • Khán giả chen chúc trước cửa rạp hát. (The audience crowded in front of the theater door.)
  • Những ngôi nhà nhỏ chen chúc bên sườn đồi. (The small houses were crammed together on the hillside.)

Advanced Usage

• The verb often implies a sense of discomfort, lack of space, and competitive effort to secure a spot. It is frequently used to describe chaotic or overly dense urban scenes, crowded transportation, or bustling markets.
• It can be used figuratively to describe intense competition in non-physical domains, such as in business or career advancement, where entities aggressively compete for limited positions or resources.

Variants and Related Words

• Chen lấn (v): To push and shove aggressively; to elbow one's way. This emphasizes more forceful and impolite action than .
  • Mọi người chen lấn để mua vé. (People pushed and shoved to buy tickets.)
• Chen (v): To squeeze in; to insert oneself into a tight space or situation.
  • Cô ấy chen vào hàng. (She squeezed into the line.)

Synonyms

• To jostle: To push or bump against someone roughly, typically in a crowd.
• To crowd: To gather closely together in a large group.
• To throng: To be or move in a large, densely packed crowd.
• To cram: To fill a space tightly with people or things.

Related Idioms

• Chen chúc kiếm sống: To hustle and struggle to make a living, often in a competitive, crowded environment.
  • Họ phải chen chúc kiếm sống ở thành phố lớn. (They have to hustle to make a living in the big city.)
• Chen chúc trong vòng danh lợi: To jostle and struggle within the circles of fame and profit; to compete fiercely for recognition and gain.
  • Anh ta chán ngán cảnh chen chúc trong vòng danh lợi. (He is weary of the fierce competition for fame and profit.)

verb

1. To hustle
   • chen chúc giữa đám đông
     to hustle in the midst of a press
   • cỏ cây mọc chen chúc
     the vegetation grew in a hustle