Definition

1. Verb:
   • To forbid; to prohibit: To officially or authoritatively state that something is not allowed and to take action to prevent it from happening.
   • To ban; to debar: To issue a formal rule or law against an action or practice, often with the intent of stopping it completely.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Luật pháp ngăn cấm hành vi bạo lực. (The law forbids violent behavior.)
  • Nhà trường ngăn cấm học sinh sử dụng điện thoại trong giờ học. (The school prohibits students from using phones during class.)
  • Chính phủ đã ngăn cấm việc săn bắt loài động vật quý hiếm này. (The government has banned the hunting of this rare animal.)

Advanced Usage

• "ngăn cấm hoàn toàn": to completely ban/prohibit.

  • Thành phố này ngăn cấm hoàn toàn việc hút thuốc trong nhà hàng. (This city completely bans smoking in restaurants.)

• "ngăn cấm một cách triệt để": to thoroughly/preemptively forbid.

  • Chúng ta phải ngăn cấm một cách triệt để mọi hình thức buôn lậu. (We must thoroughly forbid all forms of smuggling.)

Variants and Related Words

• Cấm (v): to ban, to forbid. This is a more direct and common synonym.

  • Khu vực này cấm đỗ xe. (This area forbids parking.)

• Ngăn chặn (v): to prevent, to stop. This focuses more on the action of stopping something from happening rather than the official rule.

  • Cảnh sát ngăn chặn đám đông. (The police stopped the crowd.)

Synonyms

• Forbid: To command someone not to do something.
• Prohibit: To formally forbid by law, rule, or other authority.
• Ban: To officially or legally prohibit.
• Debar: To exclude or prohibit someone officially from doing something.

Related Idioms

• While "ngăn cấm" itself is not typically part of a fixed idiom, its root "cấm" appears in common phrases:
  • Cấm cửa: to ban someone from entering; to refuse entry.

    • Anh ta bị cấm cửa không được vào quán bar nữa. (He is banned from entering the bar anymore.)
  • Cấm vận: to impose an embargo.

    • Nhiều nước áp đặt lệnh cấm vận. (Many countries impose an embargo.)

verb

1. to forbid; to debar