Definition

1. Verb:

   • To hook (and pull): To use a hook or a curved object to pull something towards oneself or downwards.
   • To insert (text): To mark a spot in written text with a caret (^) to indicate where omitted words should be added.
   • (Colloquial) To be in cahoots with; to collude: To secretly work together with someone, typically for a dishonest or illegal purpose.

2. Noun:

   • A hook: A tool with a curved end used for pulling.
   • A bracket/parenthesis: A punctuation mark used to enclose words or figures. This meaning is almost exclusively used in compound forms.

Usage Examples

• Verb (To hook):
  • Ngoặc cành ổi hái mấy quả. (Hook the guava branch to pick some fruit.)
• Verb (To insert text):
  • Ngoặc thêm mấy chữ thiếu vào câu. (Insert the missing words into the sentence [using a caret].)
• Verb (To collude):
  • Họ ngoặc với nhau để tham ô của công. (They are in cahoots to embezzle public property.)
• Noun (A hook):
  • Dùng cái ngoặc để kéo cành cây xuống. (Use the hook to pull the branch down.)

Advanced Usage

• The verb form meaning "to collude" is informal and carries a negative connotation of secretive, illicit partnership.

Variants and Related Words

• Ngoặc đơn (n): Parentheses, round brackets ( ).
  • Đặt câu đó trong ngoặc đơn. (Put that phrase in parentheses.)
• Ngoặc kép (n): Quotation marks, inverted commas " ".
  • Tên bài hát được đặt trong ngoặc kép. (The song title is placed in quotation marks.)
• Ngoặc vuông (n): Square brackets [ ].

Synonyms

• To hook: To pull, to draw in.
• To insert (text): To add, to mark for insertion.
• To be in cahoots with: To collude, to conspire, to scheme.

Related Idioms

• Ăn ý, ngoặc ý với nhau: To be in sync, to understand each other perfectly (often with an implication of unspoken, possibly secret, agreement). This extends from the colloquial verb meaning.
  • Hai đứa nó ăn ý, ngoặc ý với nhau lắm. (Those two are very much in sync with each other.)

1. Hook
   • xem ngoặc đơn ; ngoặc kép.
     Pull (down...) with a hook
   • Ngoặc cành ổi hái mấy quả
     To pull down a guava branch with a hook and pluck some fruit
2. Put a caret, insert (omitted words...) where a caret is marked
   • Ngoặc chỗ câu bị thiếu
     To put a caret in a sentence where there is an omission
   • Ngoặc thêm mấy chữ thiếu vào câu
     To insert some omitted words where a caret is put (in a sentence).
3. (thông tục) Be in cahoots with (Mỹ)
   • Ngoặc với nhau để tham ô của công
     To be in cahoots and appropriate public property