Definition

1. Verb phrase:
   • To hawk and spit: To clear one's throat noisily and then forcibly expel phlegm or saliva from the mouth, typically onto the ground. This action is often considered unhygienic and impolite in public settings.

Usage Examples

• Verb phrase:
  • Biển báo ghi: "Cấm khạc nhổ." (The sign says: "No hawking and spitting.")
  • Ông lão khạc nhổ xuống cống rãnh. (The old man hawked and spat into the drain.)
  • Hành vi khạc nhổ nơi công cộng là thiếu văn minh. (Hawking and spitting in public is uncivilized behavior.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase "khạc nhổ" is almost always used in a negative context, highlighting a socially unacceptable or prohibited action related to public health and etiquette.

Variants and Related Words

• Khạc (v): To hawk, to clear the throat and spit out phlegm.
  • Anh ta khạc một bãi đờm. (He hawked up a glob of phlegm.)
• Nhổ (v): To spit (e.g., saliva, water, a pit).
  • Đừng nhổ nước bọt xuống sàn. (Don't spit saliva onto the floor.)

Synonyms

• To spit: To eject saliva or phlegm from the mouth. (Note: "Khạc nhổ" specifically implies the throat-clearing action before spitting.)
• To expectorate: (Formal) To cough or spit out phlegm from the throat or lungs.

Related Idioms

• While "khạc nhổ" itself is a descriptive phrase, it is commonly seen in prohibitive warnings. A related figurative expression is:
• Khinh bỉ đến mức muốn khạc nhổ: To despise someone so much that one feels like hawking and spitting (in disgust).
  • Hành vi của hắn khiến người ta khinh bỉ đến mức muốn khạc nhổ. (His behavior makes people despise him to the point of wanting to hawk and spit.)

1. Hawk and spit
   • Cấm khạc nhổ
     It is forbidden to hawk and spit,no hawking and spit, no hawking and spitting