Definition

1. Verb:

   • To work diligently/assiduously: To focus intently and persistently on a task, often with a sense of quiet, absorbed effort.
   • To be engrossed/absorbed in: To be completely wrapped up in an activity, paying no attention to anything else.

2. Adjective:

   • Diligent / Assiduous: Describing someone who is characterized by careful, steady, and hardworking effort.
   • Engrossed / Absorbed: Describing the state of being fully focused and immersed in work.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Cô ấy cặm cụi viết báo cáo cả buổi chiều. (She worked diligently on the report all afternoon.)
  • Ông lão cặm cụi sửa từng chiếc xe đạp nhỏ. (The old man was absorbed in fixing each small bicycle.)
• Adjective:
  • Với thái độ cặm cụi, anh ấy đã hoàn thành dự án đúng hạn. (With a diligent attitude, he completed the project on time.)
  • Nhìn vẻ mặt cặm cụi của nó, tôi không dám làm phiền. (Seeing his engrossed expression, I didn't dare to disturb.)

Advanced Usage

• The word "cặm cụi" often implies a manual, detailed, or time-consuming task done with patience. It carries a neutral to slightly positive connotation of hard work.
• The reduplicated form "cặm cặm cụi cụi" intensifies the meaning, emphasizing an even greater level of absorbed, meticulous effort.
  • Nó ngồi cặm cặm cụi cụi khâu từng đường kim nhỏ. (He sat there, utterly absorbed in sewing every small stitch.)

Variants and Related Words

• Chăm chú (adj/adv): Attentive, attentively. Focuses more on concentration than the sustained effort implied by "cặm cụi."
• Miệt mài (verb/adj): To be engrossed in, to persevere. Similar to "cặm cụi" but can imply a longer duration and a stronger sense of passion or forgetfulness of time.

Synonyms

• To labor: To work hard.
• To toil: To work extremely hard or incessantly.
• To be immersed in: To be deeply involved in an activity.
• Industrious: Constantly, regularly, or habitually busy or occupied.

Related Idioms

• Đầu tắt mặt tối: Literally "head extinguished, face dark." An idiom meaning to work from dawn till dusk, constantly busy. It shares the theme of hard work with "cặm cụi" but emphasizes busyness and lack of rest rather than focused absorption.
  • Bà ấy làm việc đầu tắt mặt tối để nuôi con. (She works tirelessly from dawn till dusk to raise her children.)

verb & adj

1. (To be) completely wrapped up in (some work)
   • cặm cụi cả ngày trong phòng thí nghiệm
     to be completely wrapped up in one's work in the laboratory
   • cặm cụi tháo lắp cái máy
     to be completely wrapped up in dismantling and reassembling a machine