Definition

1. Noun:
   • Armpit: The hollow area under the arm where it joins the shoulder.
   • Immediate vicinity, side: A figurative meaning describing a location that is extremely close, right next to something else, emphasizing direct adjacency.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Literal - Armpit):

  • Anh ấy bị đổ mồ hôi ở kẽ nách. (He is sweating in his armpits.)
  • Cô ấy bôi lăn khử mùi vào kẽ nách. (She applies deodorant to her armpits.)

• Noun (Figurative - Vicinity):

  • Nhà họ sống ngay kẽ nách nhà tôi. (Their house is right next door to mine.)
  • Quán cà phê mới mở ngay kẽ nách trường đại học. (The new coffee shop opened right next to the university.)

Advanced Usage

• "sát kẽ nách" / "liền kẽ nách": An intensified phrase meaning "immediately adjacent," "right next to," or "cheek by jowl."
  • Hai căn nhà này xây sát kẽ nách nhau. (These two houses are built right next to each other.)
• Used to describe a very close neighbor or a nearby location with no gap in between.
  • Họ là hàng xóm liền kẽ nách, nên rất thân thiết. (They are next-door neighbors, so they are very close.)

Variants and Related Words

• Nách (Noun): The more common and general word for "armpit." "Kẽ nách" specifically highlights the hollow or crevice of the armpit.
• Bên cạnh (Preposition/Adverb): Next to, beside. This is the standard, neutral term. "Kẽ nách" (figurative) is more colloquial and vivid.
• Sát vách (Phrase): Literally "attached to the wall," meaning right next door or adjacent, similar to the figurative use of "kẽ nách."

Synonyms

• Nách: Armpit (literal).
• Cạnh bên: Side, next to (figurative).
• Sát bên: Right beside, adjacent to (figurative).

Related Idioms

• Ở liền kẽ nách: To live right next door; to be in the immediate vicinity.
  • Thuận tiện lắm vì chợ ở liền kẽ nách. (It's very convenient because the market is right next door.)
• This word itself is often used in an idiomatic way to express extreme closeness in location, not just physical contact like the armpit.

1. Next door
   • Láng giềng ở ngay kẽ nách
     A neighbour who lives just next door