Definition

1. Verb:
   • To rub or grind with pressure using the foot or hand: To press down on an object with the sole of the foot, palm of the hand, or fingers and move back and forth to crush, erase, or smear it.
   • To move or transfer (something) to another place: To relocate or shift something from its original position to a different one. This usage is more formal or literary.

Usage Examples

• Verb (To rub/crush):
  • Anh ấy dùng chân di tàn thuốc xuống sàn. (He used his foot to stub out the cigarette ash on the floor.)
  • Đứa trẻ di tay lên tường làm bẩn hết sơn. (The child rubbed its hand on the wall, dirtying all the paint.)
• Verb (To move/transfer):
  • Gia đình họ đã di hài cốt ông bà về quê. (Their family moved their grandparents' remains back to their hometown.)
  • Thành phố có kế hoạch di dân đến vùng đất mới. (The city has a plan to relocate residents to a new area.)

Advanced Usage

• "di dân": to relocate people, to resettle a population.
  • Chính sách di dân đi kinh tế mới được thực hiện vào những năm 80. (The New Economic Zone resettlement policy was implemented in the 80s.)
• "di hài" / "di cốt": (literary) remains, bones of the deceased; often used in the context of moving them.
  • Lễ di hài được tiến hành trang trọng. (The ceremony to transfer the remains was conducted solemnly.)

Variants and Related Words

• Dời (verb): A more common synonym for the "to move/relocate" meaning of "di".
  • Họ sẽ dời văn phòng vào tháng tới. (They will move the office next month.)
• Dịch chuyển (verb): To shift, to displace (often used in technical or formal contexts).
• Chà xát (verb): To scrub, to rub hard. This is a stronger, more specific synonym for the rubbing action of "di".

Synonyms

• Cọ xát / Chà: to rub, to scrub (for the "rubbing" meaning).
• Dời đi / Chuyển đi: to move away, to transfer (for the "relocating" meaning).

Related Phrases (Collocations)

• Di tàn thuốc: to stub out cigarette ash.
• Di chuyển: to move, to travel. (Note: This is a very common compound verb where "di" contributes the sense of movement).
• Di dân: to resettle people.
• Di cư: to migrate.

Notes on Usage

• The meaning "to rub/crush with the foot or hand" is the primary and most frequently used meaning in everyday modern Vietnamese.
• The meaning "to move/transfer" is less common in daily speech and carries a formal, administrative, or literary tone. It is often found in fixed phrases like "di dân" (resettlement) or "di hài" (transfer of remains).
• The verb "di" in the sense of movement should not be confused with the extremely common verb "đi" (to go). They are different words.

verb

1. to move to leave behind; to crush with feet by rubbing