Definition

1. Verb:

   • To creep or crawl through: To move one's head or entire body through a narrow, low, or confined space.
   • To sneak into: To enter a place, organization, or group secretly, stealthily, or with a bad intention.
   • To discard (a card): In card games, to play or discard a card to avoid taking a trick.

2. Adjective:

   • Contraband; illicit: Describing goods produced, sold, or obtained illegally or outside official regulations.
   • Clandestine; under the table: Describing an action done secretly to avoid rules or laws.

Usage Examples

• Verb:

  • Chuột chui vào hang. (The rat crept into its hole.)
  • Nó cố chui qua hàng rào. (He tried to crawl through the fence.)
  • Bọn gián điệp chui vào tổ chức. (The spies sneaked into the organization.)
  • Đến lượt, anh ấy chui một con bài. (When it was his turn, he discarded a card.)

• Adjective:

  • Họ mua rượu chui. (They buy contraband alcohol.)
  • Đó là một đám cưới chui. (That was a clandestine wedding.)

Advanced Usage

• The verb "chui" often implies a sense of squeezing, stealth, or undesirable entry. It can be used metaphorically for getting into trouble.
  • Chui vào sừng trâu. (To get oneself into a fix / a hornet's nest.) This idiom means to entangle oneself in a complicated, troublesome situation.

Variants and Related Words

• Chui lủi (v): To sneak around; to move about furtively and stealthily.

  • Kẻ trộm chui lủi trong bóng tối. (The thief sneaked around in the darkness.)

• Chui rúc (v): To hide away; to live or stay in a cramped, confined, or undignified place.

  • Nó chỉ suốt ngày chui rúc trong phòng. (He just hides away in his room all day.)

Synonyms

• Verb: To crawl, to slink, to infiltrate, to discard (cards).
• Adjective: Illegal, black-market, underground, secret.

Related Idioms

• Chui vào sừng trâu: As mentioned above, to get into a tight spot or a serious predicament.
• Chó chui gầm chạn: (Literally: A dog crawling under the food cupboard.) A proverb describing a state of extreme poverty or having to live in a very low, cramped condition.

verb

1. To glide headlong, to creep
   • chuột chui vào hang
     the rat crept into its hole
2. To sneak in
3. To cede (a card)
   • chui vào sừng trâu
     to get oneself into a fix

adj

1. Contraband,of illicit still mua chui to buy contraband goods
   • rượu chui
     alcohol of an illicit still, moonshine