Definition

1. Verb:
   • To sweep up, to tidy up: "quét tước" means to clean an area by sweeping away dust, dirt, or debris, often using a broom. It implies a general cleaning or tidying action.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Mỗi sáng, bà tôi đều quét tước sân nhà. (Every morning, my grandmother sweeps up the house's courtyard.)
  • Chúng ta cần quét tước lớp học trước khi tan học. (We need to tidy up the classroom before school ends.)

Advanced Usage

• "quét tước dọn dẹp": to clean and tidy up thoroughly.
  • Cuối tuần là lúc để quét tước dọn dẹp nhà cửa. (The weekend is the time to thoroughly clean and tidy up the house.)

Variants and Related Words

• Quét (verb): to sweep. This is the core component of "quét tước."
  • Quét nhà là công việc hàng ngày. (Sweeping the house is a daily chore.)
• Tước (verb, archaic/literary): to strip, to peel. In the compound "quét tước," it reinforces the cleaning action, but it is rarely used independently in modern Vietnamese with this meaning.

Synonyms

• Dọn dẹp: to clean up, to tidy up.
• Quét dọn: to sweep and clean.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Quét tước sạch sẽ: to sweep up cleanly, to tidy up thoroughly.
  • Căn phòng đã được quét tước sạch sẽ. (The room has been swept up cleanly.)

Related Idioms

• Đầu voi đuôi chuột (lit: head of an elephant, tail of a mouse): This idiom describes something that starts grandly but ends poorly. It is conceptually related to the idea of incomplete or superficial cleaning, unlike the thorough action implied by "quét tước."
  • Kế hoạch của họ thật là đầu voi đuôi chuột, hứa hẹn nhiều nhưng chẳng quét tước được gì. (Their plan is truly a case of grand beginnings and poor endings, promising a lot but not tidying up anything.)

verb

1. to sweep up, to tidy up