Definition

1. Noun:

   • Fork, bifurcation: A point where something divides into two or more branches or parts.
   • Bamboo plaited cord: A thin, flexible rope or cord made from woven bamboo strips.

2. Verb (colloquial, often considered vulgar):

   • To sponge, to scrounge: To obtain something, especially food or a meal, from someone without paying or contributing.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Fork):
  • Con chim làm tổ ở chạc cây. (The bird built its nest in the fork of the tree.)
  • Chiếc xe đạp bị hỏng chạc. (The bicycle has a broken fork.)
• Noun (Cord):
  • Người nông dân dùng chạc để buộc rơm. (The farmer used a bamboo cord to tie the straw.)
• Verb (To scrounge):
  • Nó lại đến chạc bữa cơm nhà tôi. (He came to scrounge a meal at my house again.)

Advanced Usage

• "chạc ba": A three-pronged fork or a trifurcation.
  • Ngã ba đường là chạc ba. (A T-junction is a three-way fork.)
• "chạc chữ Y": A Y-shaped fork.
  • Bộ phận này có hình chạc chữ Y. (This component has a Y-shaped fork.)

Variants and Related Words

• Chạc cây (noun phrase): Tree fork, the point where a tree branch divides.
• Xỏ chạc (verb phrase): To thread or run a cord through something (e.g., an animal's nose).
  • Xỏ chạc vào mũi trâu là một kỹ thuật chăn nuôi. (Running a cord through a buffalo's nose is a husbandry technique.)

Synonyms

• Ngã ba, ngã rẽ (noun): Fork, junction (for roads/paths).
• Dây buộc, dây thừng (noun): Rope, cord (for the bamboo cord meaning).
• Ăn bám, ăn nhờ (verb): To sponge, to live off others (for the verb meaning).

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Ăn chạc (verb phrase): To scrounge a meal. This is the most common phrasal verb form.
  • Hắn ta chuyên đi ăn chạc hàng xóm. (He specializes in scrounging meals from the neighbors.)

Related Idioms

• Cây đa cây đề có chạc, con gái mười bảy mười tám có bạn: (Figurative) An old tree has its forks, a young woman has her friends. This idiom uses "chạc" metaphorically to mean a natural point of division or connection.

noun

1. Fork
   • chạc cây
     a fork of a branch
   • chạc ba
     a three-pronged fork
   • chạc chữ Y
     a Y-shaped fork (in a machine)
2. Bamboo plaited cord
   • xỏ chạc vào mũi trâu
     to run a bamboo plaited cord through a buffalo's nose

verb

1. như ghẹ
   • ăn chạc bữa cơm
     to sponge a meal (from somebody)