Definition

1. Verb:

   • To startle, to scare: To suddenly frighten someone, often as a prank or joke, by making a loud noise or sudden appearance.
   • To intimidate, to threaten: To attempt to frighten or coerce someone through menacing words or actions.

2. Noun:

   • Scare, fright: An instance of being startled or frightened.
   • Owl: (In zoology) A type of owl. This meaning is primarily used in the compound term "chim hù" (owl).

Usage Examples

• Verb:

  • Nó thích hù bạn bè trong bóng tối. (He likes to scare his friends in the dark.)
  • Đừng hù tôi như thế! (Don't startle me like that!)
  • Tên cướp dùng dao để hù nạn nhân. (The robber used a knife to intimidate the victim.)

• Noun:

  • Tiếng hét của cô ấy gây ra một phen hù. (Her scream caused quite a scare.)
  • Chim hù thường hoạt động về đêm. (Owls are usually active at night.)

Advanced Usage

• "hù dọa": To threaten or menace. This is a common compound verb.

  • Hắn dùng lời lẽ để hù dọa mọi người. (He used words to threaten people.)

• "làm hù": To put on a bluff, to pretend to be more powerful or threatening than one actually is.

  • Anh ta chỉ đang làm hù thôi, đừng sợ. (He's just bluffing, don't be afraid.)

Variants and Related Words

• Chim hù (n): Owl. This is the standard term for the bird.
• Hùm (n): Tiger (archaic/poetic). Note: This is a different word but can be confused due to similar sound.
• Hù doạ (v): Alternative spelling for "hù dọa" (to threaten).

Synonyms

• Dọa (v): To threaten, to scare.
• Làm sợ (v): To frighten.
• Khiếp sợ (v/n): To terrify / terror.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Hù cho sợ: To scare someone (for fun or effect).
  • Thằng bé hù cho em gái sợ khóc. (The boy scared his little sister until she cried.)
• Hù một phát: To give someone a sudden scare.
  • Anh ấy nhảy ra hù tôi một phát. (He jumped out and gave me a sudden scare.)

Related Idioms

• Hù ma, dọa quỷ: Literally "to scare ghosts, threaten devils". It means to engage in empty threats or to try to scare the unscareable, implying the threats are not credible.
  • Lời đe dọa của hắn chỉ là hù ma dọa quỷ. (His threats are just empty bluffs.)

1. Wood owl