Definition

1. Verb phrase:
   • To get clear of one's debts; to pay off a debt: To settle or clear a financial obligation, freeing oneself from debt.
   • To extricate oneself from a debt: To manage to resolve a situation of owing money.

Usage Examples

• Verb phrase:
  • Anh ấy đã làm việc cật lực để gỡ nợ. (He worked tirelessly to get clear of his debts.)
  • Công ty đang tìm cách gỡ nợ trước cuối năm. (The company is looking for a way to pay off its debt before the end of the year.)
  • Kế hoạch gỡ nợ của họ khá khả thi. (Their debt repayment plan is quite feasible.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase "gỡ nợ" is often used in financial, business, or personal contexts to describe the process of debt resolution. It implies an active effort to become debt-free.
• It can be used metaphorically in informal contexts to mean "to repay a favor" or "to settle a non-monetary obligation," though this is an extended meaning.
  • Lần này tôi giúp anh, lần sau anh phải gỡ nợ đấy nhé. (I'll help you this time, you'll have to return the favor next time.)

Variants and Related Words

• Trả nợ (verb phrase): To repay a debt. (A more direct synonym for the act of paying back money.)
• Thanh toán nợ (verb phrase): To settle a debt. (Emphasizes the finalization of the payment.)
• Xóa nợ (verb phrase): To cancel or write off a debt. (Focuses on the debt being erased, often by the creditor.)
• Gánh nợ (verb phrase): To shoulder/be burdened with debt. (The opposite state of being in debt.)

Synonyms

• Clear a debt: To settle what is owed.
• Pay off a debt: To finish repaying money that was borrowed.
• Settle one's debts: To resolve all outstanding financial obligations.
• Liquidate a debt: To pay a debt in full (more formal/business term).

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Gỡ bỏ (verb): To remove, to untangle. (Shares the root "gỡ" meaning to disentangle or remove.)
  • Gỡ bỏ khó khăn (To remove difficulties).
• Gỡ rối (verb phrase): To untangle a mess, to solve a complicated problem.
  • Nhờ anh ấy đến gỡ rối tình hình. (We need him to come and sort out the situation.)

Related Idioms

• "Gỡ thế bí": To find a way out of a deadlock or a tight spot. This idiom uses "gỡ" in the sense of extricating oneself from a difficult, non-financial situation.
  • Cuối cùng họ cũng tìm được cách gỡ thế bí. (They finally found a way to get out of the tight spot.)
• "Nợ như chúa Chổm": A Vietnamese idiom meaning "to be deeply in debt," often used humorously. "Gỡ nợ" would be the desired action for someone in this state.

1. Get clear of one's debts