Definition

1. Verb:
   • To tell of someone's mistakes, to expose someone's mistakes: The act of recounting or listing the wrongdoings, errors, or faults of a person, often in a critical or accusatory manner.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Cô ấy không ngừng kể tội đồng nghiệp trước mặt sếp. (She kept telling of her colleague's mistakes in front of the boss.)
  • Đừng kể tội con trước mặt khách. (Don't expose the child's mistakes in front of guests.)
  • Anh ta thường kể tội vợ mình với bạn bè. (He often tells of his wife's mistakes to his friends.)

Advanced Usage

• "kể hết tội" / "kể ra hết tội": To tell of all the mistakes, to list every fault.

  • Trong cơn giận, cô ấy kể hết tội chồng mình. (In her anger, she told of all her husband's mistakes.)

• "bị kể tội": To have one's mistakes told/exposed (passive voice).

  • Cậu bé bị kể tội vì đã nói dối. (The boy had his mistakes exposed for lying.)

Variants and Related Words

• Kể lể (verb): To complain at length, to grumble (often about one's own hardships, but can overlap in the sense of listing grievances).
• Tố cáo (verb): To denounce, to accuse (often more formal and serious than "kể tội").
• Bóc phốt (verb, informal): To expose someone's scandals or secrets (modern, colloquial equivalent often used online).

Synonyms

• Chỉ trích (verb): To criticize.
• Phê bình (verb): To critique, to review (can be constructive or negative).
• Bới móc (verb): To dig up (faults), to nitpick (has a negative connotation of pettiness).

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

Note: As a compound verb, "kể tội" itself functions as a phrasal unit. Related Vietnamese phrases often use it with other particles. - Kể tội ra: To tell/expose the mistakes (emphasizing the action of bringing them out). - Cô ấy kể tội anh ta ra trước cả gia đình. (She exposed his mistakes before the whole family.)

Related Idioms

• Vạch áo cho người xem lưng: Literally "to open someone's shirt for others to see their back"; meaning to expose someone's private matters or faults to the public. This idiom conveys a similar meaning to "kể tội" but is more vivid and critical of the exposé itself.
  • Việc kể tội bạn bè như vậy chẳng khác nào vạch áo cho người xem lưng. (Telling of your friends' mistakes like that is no different from exposing their private faults.)

1. Tell of someone's mistakes, expose someone's mistakes