Definition

1. Verb:
   • To strain, to bear down: To contract one's abdominal and pelvic muscles with great effort, typically to expel something from the body, such as during childbirth or defecation.
   • (Informal, figurative) To labor, to strain (mentally): To make a strenuous, often visibly difficult effort to produce something, like words or ideas.

Usage Examples

• Verb (Physical strain):
  • Sản phụ phải rặn theo nhịp cơn đau. (The woman in labor had to bear down in rhythm with the contractions.)
  • Anh ấy bị táo bón nên phải rặn rất nhiều. (He was constipated so he had to strain a lot.)
• Verb (Mental/figurative strain):
  • Nhà văn rặn mãi mới viết xong chương đầu. (The writer labored for a long time before finishing the first chapter.)
  • Cậu bé rặn ra một câu xin lỗi. (The boy forced out an apology.)

Advanced Usage

• "Rặn đẻ": A specific compound phrase meaning "to bear down during childbirth; to be in labor."
  • Cô ấy đã rặn đẻ suốt hai tiếng đồng hồ. (She was bearing down in labor for two full hours.)
• "Rặn ỉa" / "Rặn đi ngoài" (colloquial/vulgar): A specific compound phrase meaning "to strain during defecation."
  • Ăn nhiều chất xơ để khỏi phải rặn ỉa. (Eat more fiber to avoid having to strain during a bowel movement.)

Variants and Related Words

• Rán (Verb): A common misspelling or phonetic variant in casual writing, but "rán" correctly means "to fry." The two words are distinct.
• Gắng sức (Verb): To exert effort, to strive. (A more general synonym for making an effort).
• Cố gắng (Verb): To try hard, to make an effort. (A more common and polite general term).

Synonyms

• Gồng mình (Verb): To tense one's body; to brace oneself. (Often used for physical strain or enduring hardship).
• Cố rặn (Verb Phrase): To try hard to strain. (Emphasizes the effort).
• Gắng (Verb): To endeavor. (More formal/literary for mental effort).

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Rặn ra (Verb + Particle): To strain something out; (figuratively) to produce something with great difficulty.
  • Anh ta rặn ra được vài dòng thơ. (He managed to squeeze out a few lines of poetry.)

Related Idioms

• Rặn từng chữ một: To labor over every word; to speak/write with immense difficulty.
  • Bài phát biểu của anh ấy nghe như rặn từng chữ một. (His speech sounded like he was laboring over every single word.)
• Rặn như rặn đá: To strain as if trying to pass a stone (a vivid simile for extreme straining, often humorous or hyperbolic).
  • Làm bài tập khó quá, tôi rặn như rặn đá mà không xong. (The exercise was too hard; I strained as if passing a stone and still couldn't finish it.)

1. Contract muscles
   • Rặn đẻ
     To contract one's muscles trying to give birth to a baby
   • Rặn ỉa
     To contract one's muscles trying to empty one's bowels.
2. (thông tục) Be delivered of
   • Rặn mãi mà không ra được một câu
     To try hard vainly to be delivered of a sentence