lột da
Definition
Verb:
- To skin: To remove the skin or hide from an animal, often for food preparation or taxidermy.
- To peel: To shed or remove an outer layer, such as skin, in a manner similar to peeling. Often used for reptiles or in a figurative sense for sunburn.
Verb (figurative):
- To fleece / to swindle: To strip someone of money or possessions completely, often through deceit.
- To expose / to unmask: To reveal the true, often hidden, nature of someone or something.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Người thợ săn lột da con nai. (The hunter skinned the deer.)
- Con rắn đang lột da. (The snake is shedding its skin.)
- Verb (figurative):
- Tên lừa đảo đó lột da sạch sẽ các nạn nhân. (That swindler fleeced the victims clean.)
- Bài báo lột da bộ mặt thật của công ty. (The article exposed the true face of the company.)
Advanced Usage
- "lột da sống": To skin alive; used literally or as a severe threat or metaphor for extreme criticism.
- Ông chủ giận dữ, như muốn lột da sống nhân viên. (The boss was furious, as if he wanted to skin the employee alive.)
Variants and Related Words
- Lột xác (v): To molt, to shed skin (for insects, reptiles); to transform or reinvent oneself completely.
- Con tằm lột xác để thành nhộng. (The silkworm molts to become a pupa.)
- Công ty đang cố gắng lột xác để cạnh tranh. (The company is trying to reinvent itself to compete.)
Synonyms
- Skin: To remove the skin.
- Fleece: To deprive of money unjustly.
- Expose: To reveal something concealed.
Related Idioms
Lột mặt nạ: To unmask, to reveal someone's true (often hypocritical) identity.
- Cuộc điều tra đã lột mặt nạ tên tội phạm. (The investigation unmasked the criminal.)
Da nào lột nấy (idiomatic): Literally "each skin sheds itself"; meaning everyone must deal with their own problems or face the consequences of their own actions.
- Anh ta gây ra lỗi lầm, giờ da nào lột nấy thôi. (He made the mistake, now he must face the music.)