Definition

1. Verb:
   • To treat, to cure: To provide medical care to heal an illness or injury.
   • To correct, to fix: To rectify an error, mistake, or fault in something written or spoken.
   • To repair, to mend: To restore a broken or malfunctioning object to working condition.
   • To alter, to modify: To change the form or structure of something, often clothing, for a new purpose.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Bác sĩ đang chữa bệnh cho bệnh nhân. (The doctor is treating the patient's illness.)
  • Giáo viên chữa lỗi ngữ pháp trong bài luận. (The teacher corrects the grammar mistakes in the essay.)
  • Anh thợ chữa chiếc xe máy bị hỏng. (The mechanic repaired the broken motorbike.)
  • Cô ấy chữa chiếc quần dài thành quần đùi. (She altered the long pants into shorts.)

Advanced Usage

• "chữa cháy": Literally "to cure fire," meaning to fight a fire. Figuratively, it means to handle an urgent, unexpected problem.

  • Đội chữa cháy có mặt rất nhanh. (The firefighting team arrived very quickly.)
  • Anh ấy phải làm thêm giờ để chữa cháy một sự cố. (He had to work overtime to handle an urgent incident.)

• "chữa trị": A more formal compound verb for "to treat" or "to cure" a disease.

  • Bệnh này cần được chữa trị dài ngày. (This disease requires long-term treatment.)

Variants and Related Words

• Chữa bệnh (v): To treat/cure an illness.

  • Phòng bệnh hơn chữa bệnh. (Prevention is better than cure.)

• Chữa lành (v): To heal (often implying a complete recovery).

  • Vết thương đã chữa lành. (The wound has healed.)

• Sửa chữa (v): To repair, to fix (a general term for repairing objects).

  • Công ty sửa chữa máy tính. (The company repairs computers.)

Synonyms

• Treat / Cure: For medical contexts.
• Correct / Rectify: For errors.
• Repair / Mend: For objects.
• Alter / Modify: For changing form.

Related Idioms

• Chữa lợn lành thành lợn què: Literally "to treat a healthy pig into a lame pig," meaning to make a situation worse while trying to fix it.

  • Đừng can thiệp, kẻo chữa lợn lành thành lợn què. (Don't interfere, or you might make things worse.)

• Có bệnh thì vái tứ phương: Literally "when sick, pray to all directions," similar to "desperate times call for desperate measures," often related to trying any possible cure.

  • Ông ấy thử đủ mọi cách, đúng là có bệnh thì vái tứ phương. (He tried every method, truly a case of trying anything when in need.)

verb

1. To cure, to treat, to correct, to repair
   • phòng bệnh hơn chữa bệnh
     prevention is better than cure
   • chữa thuốc nam
     to treat (a disease) by galenical medicine (with herbs)
   • chữa lỗi in sai
     to correct misprints
   • thợ chữa đồng hồ
     a watchmaker
   • xe chữa cháy
     a fire-engine
2. To alter, to doctor
   • chữa áo dài thành áo sơ mi
     to alter a tunic into a shirt
   • chữa sổ sách
     to doctor books