Definition

1. Verb:
   • To crush, to mash, to pound: To reduce something into small pieces or a paste by applying strong pressure, hitting, or grinding. This action is often done with a pestle, hammer, or by stepping on something.
   • To embed a splinter: To cause a sharp, thin piece of wood, glass, or metal to pierce and stick into the skin or flesh.

Usage Examples

• Verb (To crush/mash):

  • Bà ấy giằm ớt để làm tương ớt. (She is mashing chilies to make chili sauce.)
  • Người nông dân giằm đất cho thật nát trước khi gieo hạt. (The farmer pounds the soil until it's very fine before sowing seeds.)

• Verb (To embed a splinter):

  • Tôi bị giằm một mảnh gỗ vào chân. (I got a wood splinter embedded in my foot.)
  • Cẩn thận kẻo bị giằm kính. (Be careful not to get glass splinters.)

Advanced Usage

• "giằm nát": to crush completely, to pulverize.

  • Cơn giận giằm nát trái tim anh ấy. (The anger crushed his heart completely.)

• "giằm xì" (slang, less common): to suppress, to squash (often used figuratively).

  • Âm mưu đó đã bị giằm xì ngay từ đầu. (That plot was squashed right from the start.)

Variants and Related Words

• Giập (verb): Often used interchangeably with "giằm" in the sense of crushing or bruising (e.g., - to crush/bruise a finger). "Giập" more commonly refers to the state of being crushed/bruised, while "giằm" emphasizes the action.
• Mảnh giằm (noun phrase): A splinter, a shard.
  • Lấy cái mảnh giằm ra khỏi tay. (Remove the splinter from the hand.)
• Nện (verb): To pound, to beat. A synonym for the crushing action of "giằm".
• Tán (verb): To grind, to crush into powder. A more specific type of "giằm".

Synonyms

• Nghiền: To grind, to crush (often to a finer consistency than "giằm").
• Giã: To pound (typically in a mortar with a pestle, like "giã tỏi" - to pound garlic).
• Đâm (for the splinter meaning): To pierce, to stab.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Bị giằm: To be stuck with a splinter; to be crushed (passive voice).
  • Anh ta bị giằm ở lòng bàn chân. (He got a splinter in the sole of his foot.)
• Làm giằm: To make into splinters; to crush something.
  • Vụ nổ làm giằm cửa kính. (The explosion shattered the glass door into splinters.)

Related Idioms

• Giằm thịt nát xương: (To crush flesh and shatter bones) An idiom describing extreme physical destruction or brutal beating.
  • Cú đấm như muốn giằm thịt nát xương. (The punch felt like it wanted to crush flesh and shatter bones.)
• Giằm vào lòng: (To be embedded in the heart) A figurative expression meaning a memory, sorrow, or thought is deeply and painfully fixed in one's mind.
  • Nỗi buồn ấy giằm vào lòng cô ấy. (That sorrow is embedded in her heart.)

1. Splinter
   • Bị giằm đâm vào tay
     To get a splinter into one's finger