Definition

1. Verb:
   • To oppress, to crush, to overwhelm: "dập vùi" describes the action of treating someone with extreme cruelty, violence, or injustice, causing them to suffer physically or mentally. It conveys a sense of being relentlessly beaten down or submerged by hardship.
   • To maltreat, to abuse: It specifically refers to the act of harming or treating someone, often a vulnerable person, very badly.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Số phận đã dập vùi cô ấy từ khi còn nhỏ. (Fate has crushed/overwhelmed her since she was a child.)
  • Không ai có quyền dập vùi người khác về thể xác lẫn tinh thần. (No one has the right to maltreat/abuse others physically or mentally.)
  • Những ký ức đau buồn ấy vẫn còn dập vùi anh. (Those sad memories still torment/overwhelm him.)

Advanced Usage

• "bị dập vùi": to be oppressed/crushed.
  • Anh ta cảm thấy bị dập vùi bởi gánh nặng công việc. (He feels crushed by the workload.)
• "dập vùi tàn nhẫn": to cruelly crush/oppress.
  • Chiến tranh đã dập vùi tàn nhẫn bao ước mơ. (The war has cruelly crushed so many dreams.)

Variants and Related Words

• Vùi dập: This is a variant with the same meaning and usage as "dập vùi". The words are often used interchangeably.
  • Bão lũ vùi dập cả ngôi làng. (The storm and floods overwhelmed the entire village.)
• Đàn áp (verb): to suppress, to repress. (Focuses more on political/social suppression).
• Hành hạ (verb): to torment, to torture. (Focuses on causing prolonged suffering).

Synonyms

• Áp bức: to oppress.
• Chà đạp: to trample on, to oppress.
• Bức hại: to persecute.

Related Idioms

• Dập liễu vùi hoa: This is a classical idiom derived from literary Vietnamese, meaning "to maltreat a young girl/woman". It uses "liễu" (willow) and "hoa" (flower) as metaphors for a young, beautiful, and vulnerable woman.
  • Tên ác nhân đó chuyên đi dập liễu vùi hoa. (That villain specializes in maltreating young women.)

1. như vùi dập