Definition

1. Verb:
   • To entrust completely, to give free hand to deal with: "phó mặc" means to hand over a matter, responsibility, or person entirely to someone else, often implying a lack of further oversight, concern, or intervention.
   • To abandon to, to leave at the mercy of: It can also mean to leave someone or something completely to the influence of a force or circumstance, suggesting a passive resignation or surrender.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Chớ phó mặc việc nhà cho mấy đứa bé. (One should not entrust household chores completely to the children.)
  • Anh ấy phó mặc công ty cho người quản lý mới. (He completely entrusted the company to the new manager.)
  • Con tàu bị phó mặc cho gió bão. (The ship was abandoned to the storm.)

Advanced Usage

• "phó mặc số phận": to resign oneself to fate, to leave one's fate to chance.
  • Sau thất bại, anh ta chỉ biết phó mặc số phận. (After the failure, he could only resign himself to fate.)
• "phó mặc cho đời": to abandon oneself to life's vicissitudes.
  • Ông cụ sống một cuộc đời phó mặc cho đời. (The old man lived a life abandoned to the whims of fate.)

Variants and Related Words

• Phó thác (verb): to entrust, to commit (often with a sense of trust and hope, less negative than "phó mặc").
  • Bà phó thác đứa con cho người bạn. (She entrusted her child to her friend.)
• Khoán trắng (verb, colloquial): to contract out entirely, to give full responsibility without oversight (similar in meaning to one aspect of "phó mặc").

Synonyms

• Giao phó: to entrust, to delegate (can be neutral or formal).
• Bỏ mặc: to abandon, to leave to fend for oneself (emphasizes neglect).
• Mặc kệ: to leave alone, to let be (often used in imperative or negative contexts).

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

Note: As a single verb, "phó mặc" does not combine with other words to form phrasal verbs in the same way English verbs do. Its meaning is conveyed through the object that follows.

Related Idioms

• "Phó mặc cho trời định đoạt": to leave it for heaven to decide; to leave something to fate.
  • Mọi việc giờ đã xong, chỉ còn biết phó mặc cho trời định đoạt. (Everything is done now, we can only leave it for heaven to decide.)

1. Entrust completely, give free hand to deal with
   • Chớ phó mặc việc nhà cho mấy đứa bé
     One should not entrust completely the children with household chores