Definition

1. Verb:
   • To meet face to face, to come face to face with: "chạm mặt" describes the action of encountering or meeting someone directly and in person, often implying a direct, sometimes unexpected or confrontational, meeting.
   • To confront: It can also carry the nuance of a direct confrontation or encounter with someone, especially in a challenging context.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Tôi không ngờ lại chạm mặt anh ấy ở đây. (I didn't expect to meet him face to face here.)
  • Hai đội sẽ chạm mặt nhau trong trận chung kết. (The two teams will meet face to face in the final match.)
  • Anh ta không muốn chạm mặt đối thủ cũ. (He doesn't want to come face to face with his old rival.)

Advanced Usage

• The word "chạm mặt" is considered somewhat archaic or literary in modern Vietnamese. In everyday speech, words like gặp mặt or simply gặp are more commonly used for "to meet."
• It often implies the moment of initial contact or the first direct encounter in a situation.
  • Lần đầu chạm mặt, tôi đã có ấn tượng rất sâu sắc. (The first time we met face to face, I was very deeply impressed.)

Variants and Related Words

• Chạm ngõ: An even more archaic synonym, meaning to have an initial contact or meeting, often used in formal or traditional contexts (e.g., the first meeting between two families for a marriage proposal).
• Gặp mặt: The standard, modern term for "to meet (in person)."
• Đối mặt: To face (a situation, a person), often with a stronger sense of confrontation.
• Tiếp xúc: To contact, to interact with.

Synonyms

• Gặp: To meet.
• Đối diện: To be opposite, to face.
• Gặp gỡ: To meet (often for a social purpose).

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Chạm trán: To clash, to have a confrontation (stronger and more conflict-oriented than "chạm mặt").
  • Hai phe đối lập chạm trán nhau tại quảng trường. (The two opposing factions clashed at the square.)

Related Idioms

• While "chạm mặt" itself is not typically part of a fixed idiom, the concept is related to expressions about meetings and encounters.
• Mặt đối mặt: Face to face (a descriptive phrase).
  • Họ nói chuyện mặt đối mặt. (They talked face to face.)

1. To meet face to face, to face
   • như chạm ngõ