Definition

Verb: * (of a dog) to bark: To make the sharp, loud, short cry characteristic of a dog. * (figurative, informal) to speak angrily or nonsensically; to yap: Used to describe a person speaking in a harsh, scolding, or meaningless way, often implying annoyance.

Usage

• The verb sủa is primarily used for the sound a dog makes. It is an intransitive verb.
• In its figurative sense, it is highly informal and often derogatory, used to criticize someone's speech as being like the annoying, repetitive sound of a barking dog.

Usage Examples

• Literal meaning (dog barking):
  • Con chó nhà hàng xóm sủa suốt đêm. (The neighbor's dog barked all night.)
  • Nghe tiếng chó sủa, tôi biết có người lạ đến. (Hearing the dog bark, I knew a stranger had arrived.)
• Figurative meaning (person speaking):
  • Đừng có sủa ở đây! Hãy nói chuyện cho lịch sự. (Don't yap here! Speak politely.)
  • Nó chỉ biết sủa chứ chẳng làm được việc gì. (He only knows how to bark [complain/talk nonsense] but can't get anything done.)

Advanced Usage

• Sủa vang: To bark loudly and resonantly.
  • Tiếng chó sủa vang khắp xóm. (The sound of dogs barking loudly echoed throughout the neighborhood.)
• Sủa dai / Sủa liên tục: To bark persistently/continuously.
  • Con chó cứ sủa dai vào cái bóng của nó. (The dog kept barking persistently at its own shadow.)

Variants and Related Words

• Tiếng sủa (n): A bark, barking (the sound).
  • Tiếng sủa đó nghe rất dữ dằn. (That bark sounds very fierce.)
• Chó sủa (phrase): A barking dog.
  • Chó sủa là chuyện bình thường. (A barking dog is normal.)

Synonyms

• Gâu gâu (onomatopoeia): Bow-wow, woof (the sound of barking).
  • Chó kêu "gâu gâu". (The dog goes "woof woof".)
• La (verb): To shout, to yell (for the figurative sense, though less animal-specific).
  • Anh ta la lên vì tức giận. (He shouted in anger.)

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Chó sủa, đoàn người cứ đi / Chó sủa là chó không cắn: Literally "The dogs bark, the caravan moves on" / "A barking dog doesn't bite." This idiom means to ignore empty threats or meaningless noise and continue with one's work or journey.
  • Cứ để họ phản đối, chó sủa đoàn người cứ đi. (Let them protest, the dogs bark but the caravan moves on.)
• Sủa như chó dại: To bark like a rabid dog (a strong insult meaning to shout or speak very angrily and irrationally).
  • Ông ấy tức giận và sủa như chó dại. (He was angry and barked like a rabid dog.)

verb

1. (chó) to bark