Definition

Verb: - To invent, to fabricate (a story, information): To create or say something that is not true, often in a playful, exaggerated, or deceptive manner. It implies telling tall tales or making things up. - To joke, to kid (in a non-serious, often exaggerated way): To speak in a manner that is not meant to be taken seriously, involving made-up or embellished content.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Đừng tin anh ấy, anh ấy chỉ đang phượu thôi. (Don't believe him, he's just making things up.)
  • Bọn trẻ thích ngồi phượu chuyện ma với nhau. (The kids like to sit and invent ghost stories together.)
  • "Tôi có thể chạy nhanh hơn xe hơi đấy!" – "Thôi đi, đừng có phượu!" ("I can run faster than a car!" – "Come on, stop kidding!")

Advanced Usage

• "Nói phượu": To tell invented stories; to fabricate tales.
  • Cậu ta nổi tiếng trong lớp vì hay nói phượu. (He's famous in class for often telling tall tales.)
• "Tán phượu": To chat or gossip in an exaggerated, invented, or non-serious way.
  • Họ ngồi quán cà phê tán phượu cả buổi chiều. (They sat in the coffee shop shooting the breeze / spinning yarns all afternoon.)

Variants and Related Words

• Bịa (đặt) (verb): To fabricate, to concoct. This is a more general and often stronger synonym for inventing falsehoods.
• Khoác lác (verb): To boast, to brag. While "phượu" can involve exaggeration, "khoác lác" specifically focuses on boastful lies.
• Đùa (verb): To joke, to kid. "Đùa" is a broader term for joking, while "phượu" often implies the joke involves a fabricated narrative.

Synonyms

• Fabricate: To invent or create (something, typically a story or fact) with the intent to deceive.
• Make up: To invent a story, excuse, etc.
• Spin a yarn: To tell a long, far-fetched, or fanciful story.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

(Note: As "phượu" is a verb, it does not combine with other Vietnamese words to form phrasal verbs in the same way English verbs do. Its common combinations are fixed phrases like "nói phượu" and "tán phượu" as shown above.)

Related Idioms

• "Chuyện phượu": A tall tale; a fabricated story.
  • Đó chỉ là chuyện phượu, không có thật đâu. (That's just a tall tale, it's not real.)
• "Phượt phượu": (Reduplicated form) To engage in light, exaggerated, or nonsensical chatter.
  • Hai đứa nó ngồi phượt phượu với nhau cả ngày. (Those two sit around chattering nonsense to each other all day.)

1. Invent, fabricate
   • Nói phượu
     To invent (tell) stories