Definition

1. Verb:

   • To inhale; to suck in: To draw air, smoke, or a substance into the mouth or lungs, often through a tube or by creating a vacuum. This is the most common usage.
   • To absorb; to soak up: For a porous material to take in and hold a liquid, like a sponge absorbing water.
   • To attract; to pull towards: For a force or object to draw another object closer, such as a magnet attracting iron or gravity pulling objects.

2. Adverb (trạng từ):

   • Extremely; vanishingly: Used to emphasize a great distance, depth, or degree, often implying something disappears from view (e.g., a road stretching far into the distance).
   • Almost; nearly: Colloquially used to mean coming very close to a negative outcome (e.g., almost dying).

Usage Examples

• Verb:

  • Anh ấy hút thuốc lá. (He smokes cigarettes / He inhales cigarette smoke.)
  • Miếng bọt biển hút nước rất nhanh. (The sponge absorbs water very quickly.)
  • Trái đất hút mọi vật về phía nó. (The earth attracts all objects toward itself.)

• Adverb:

  • Con đường chạy dài vào xa hút. (The road runs long into the far distance.)
  • Nó hút chết vì tai nạn. (He almost died in the accident.)

Advanced Usage

• "hút hồn": to captivate, to fascinate (literally: to suck the soul).

  • Bài hát đó hút hồn người nghe. (That song captivates the listeners.)

• "hút chân không": to vacuum-seal.

  • Thực phẩm được đóng gói hút chân không. (The food is vacuum-sealed packaged.)

Variants and Related Words

• Hít hút (v): to breathe in and out, to inhale and exhale.

  • Bệnh nhân được yêu cầu hít hút sâu. (The patient is asked to breathe deeply.)

• Hút máu (v): to suck blood; figuratively, to exploit.

  • Con đỉa đang hút máu. (The leech is sucking blood.)

Synonyms

• Inhale: to breathe in.
• Absorb: to soak up a liquid.
• Attract: to draw something closer.
• Nearly: almost (for the adverbial usage).

Related Idioms

• Đi mất hút: to disappear without a trace.

  • Sau cuộc cãi vã, anh ta đi mất hút. (After the argument, he disappeared without a trace.)

• Hút của đổ thừa: to bear the blame for others; to be the scapegoat.

  • Anh ấy luôn hút của đổ thừa cho mọi sai sót của nhóm. (He always takes the blame for every mistake of the team.)

verb

1. to inhale; to suck (air; smokẹ) to absord; to take up (water) to attract
   • đá nam châm hút sắt
     a magnet attracts iron
   • hút máu
     to suck out blood