Definition

1. Verb (informal):
   • To boast, to brag: To speak with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about one's achievements, possessions, or abilities, often exaggerating the truth.
   • To talk big, to shoot one's mouth off: To make extravagant, exaggerated, or false statements in a showy or loud manner.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Anh ta chỉ biết phét lác về thành tích của mình. (He only knows how to boast about his achievements.)
  • Đừng nghe lời phét lác của nó. (Don't listen to his big talk.)
  • Họ ngồi quán cà phê phét lác về những chuyến phiêu lưu. (They sat in the coffee shop bragging about their adventures.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is informal and often carries a negative connotation, implying that the speaker is not being entirely truthful or is being annoyingly boastful.
• It is commonly used in casual, spoken language rather than in formal writing.

Variants and Related Words

• Khoác lác (v): To brag, to boast. This is a direct synonym and is used interchangeably with "phét lác."

  • Thằng bé thích khoác lác với bạn bè. (The boy likes to brag to his friends.)

• Nói phét (v): To talk boastfully or to tell tall tales.

  • Ông ấy hay nói phét về ngày xưa. (He often talks big about the old days.)

Synonyms

• Boast: To talk with excessive pride.
• Brag: To say something in a boastful manner.
• Exaggerate: To represent something as greater than it is.
• Talk big: (Idiomatic) To speak boastfully.

Related Idioms

• Phét lác như tầm phào: To brag nonsensically or to talk a lot of hot air.

  • Lời hứa của hắn chỉ là phét lác như tầm phào. (His promises are just a lot of hot air.)

• Chém gió (slang, v): A modern, slang term meaning to brag or talk extravagantly, often with little basis in truth.

  • Nó ngồi cả tối chỉ để chém gió. (He sat all night just shooting the breeze/bragging.)

1. (thông tục) như khoác lác