Definition

1. Verb:

   • To hit; to strike: To deliver a blow, often repeatedly or with a blunt object, typically causing damage like chipping or breaking.
   • To chip; to break off pieces: To cause something hard (like stone, ceramic, or glass) to break or lose small pieces at its edge by hitting it.

2. Noun:

   • Small earthenware jar: A small pot or jar, traditionally made of earthenware (sành), used for storing food like fermented soybean paste (tương) or other condiments.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Hắn dùng hòn đá để ghè vỡ cửa kính. (He used a rock to smash the glass door.)
  • Cái bát bị ghè mất một miếng. (The bowl was chipped, losing a piece.)
• Noun:
  • Bà tôi thường đựng tương trong một cái ghè nhỏ. (My grandmother often kept soybean paste in a small earthenware jar.)

Advanced Usage

• The verb ghè often implies a crude, forceful, or repeated action, not a single precise strike. It can be used in both literal and figurative contexts to mean persistent harassment or verbal attack.
  • Suốt ngày anh ta cứ ghè vào chuyện cũ. (All day long, he kept harping on the old issue.)

Variants and Related Words

• Ghè ghè (verb, reduplicated form): To hit or chip away at something lightly and repeatedly.
• Đập ghè (compound verb): To smash and break (emphasizing destructive action).

Synonyms

• Verb: Đập (to hit, to strike), Nện (to beat, to pound - more informal/vulgar), Đục (to chisel - for intentional shaping).
• Noun: Hũ (jar, pot), Lọ (vial, small bottle).

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Ghè cho một trận: (Idiomatic) To give someone a beating.
  • Nó bị đám trẻ kia ghè cho một trận. (He got a beating from those kids.)

Related Idioms

• Ghè đầu, mài trán: (Idiom) To study or work extremely hard, literally "to chip one's head, to grind one's forehead."
  • Phải ghè đầu, mài trán mới có thể thi đỗ. (You have to study until your head aches to pass the exam.)

verb

1. to hit; to strike

noun

1. small jaw