Definition

1. Noun:

   • Lymph node: A small, bean-shaped structure that is part of the body's lymphatic system, often swelling when fighting infection.
   • (Biology) Nucleus: The central and most important part of a cell, containing genetic material.
   • (Historical) Preliminary examination: A qualifying or screening test held before the main imperial examinations in historical Vietnam.

2. Verb:

   • To interrogate; to give someone a hard time: To question or examine someone severely and often unfairly.
   • To extort; to demand (money, satisfaction): To pressure someone, often through intimidation, to give something.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • Cô ấy bị sưng hạch ở cổ. (She has a swollen lymph node in her neck.)
  • Hạch là trung tâm điều khiển của tế bào. (The nucleus is the control center of the cell.)
  • Ông cụ từng đỗ kỳ thi hạch thời xưa. (The old man once passed the preliminary examination in the old days.)

• Verb:

  • Ông chủ cứ hạch nhân viên về những lỗi nhỏ. (The boss keeps interrogating the employees about minor mistakes.)
  • Bọn côn đồ đến hạch tiền các tiểu thương. (The gangsters came to extort money from the street vendors.)

Advanced Usage

• "nổi hạch": to have swollen lymph nodes (a common phrase indicating illness).

  • Sốt cao và nổi hạch có thể là dấu hiệu của nhiễm trùng. (High fever and swollen lymph nodes can be signs of infection.)

• "hạch sách": to nitpick; to find fault persistently and annoyingly (a common compound).

  • Anh ta luôn hạch sách từng chi tiết trong báo cáo. (He always nitpicks every detail in the report.)

Variants and Related Words

• Hạch toán (verb): to calculate; to settle accounts (a common compound in business/finance).

  • Phòng kế toán đang hạch toán chi phí. (The accounting department is calculating the costs.)

• Hạch tâm (noun - archaic/literary): core; central point (similar to 'nucleus' in a figurative sense).

• Bệnh hạch (noun): lymphadenopathy; a disease characterized by swollen lymph nodes.

Synonyms

• Noun (Lymph node): tuyến bạch huyết (lymphatic gland).
• Verb (To interrogate): chất vấn, tra hỏi (to question).
• Verb (To extort): bóc lột, cưỡng đoạt (to exploit, to extort).

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Hạch hỏi: to interrogate; to question rigorously (emphasizes the 'asking' aspect).
  • Cảnh sát hạch hỏi nghi phạm suốt nhiều giờ. (The police interrogated the suspect for many hours.)

Related Idioms

• "Vạch lá tìm sâu" / "Bới lông tìm vết": These idioms (meaning "to part leaves to find worms" / "to rummage through fur to find flaws") share a similar concept with the verb 'hạch' in the sense of nitpicking or finding fault where there is little.
  • Đừng có vạch lá tìm sâu, hạch từng lỗi nhỏ thế. (Don't nitpick like that, interrogating every small mistake.)

noun

1. gland; (bool) nucleus
2. (y học) Bubo

verb

1. to examine; to demand satisfaction