tị
Definition
Verb:
- To be jealous; to be envious: To feel resentment or discontent toward someone because of their advantages, possessions, or perceived success.
- To be possessive; to show sibling rivalry: Often used to describe a child's jealousy, typically toward a sibling who receives more attention or favor.
Noun:
- The Snake (zodiac sign): The sixth earthly branch in the traditional Vietnamese zodiac cycle, corresponding to the hours of 9 AM to 11 AM and the Year of the Snake.
- A tiny amount; a very small quantity: An archaic or literary term for a minuscule measure, often seen in the reduplicated form tí tị.
Usage Examples
Verb:
- Đứa trẻ đó rất hay tị khi thấy em mình được mẹ ôm. (That child often gets jealous when seeing their younger sibling being hugged by their mother.)
- Đừng có tị với thành công của người khác. (Don't be envious of other people's success.)
Noun (Zodiac):
- Bố tôi sinh năm tị. (My father was born in the Year of the Snake.)
- Giờ tị là khoảng thời gian từ 9 giờ sáng đến 11 giờ sáng. (The tị hour is from 9 AM to 11 AM.)
Noun (Quantity):
- Chỉ cần thêm một tị muối thôi. (Just add a tiny bit of salt.)
Advanced Usage
"tị nạnh": To bicker or squabble out of mutual jealousy or pettiness.
- Hai đứa trẻ suốt ngày tị nạnh nhau. (The two children bicker with each other all day out of jealousy.)
"tí tị" (reduplicated form): An extremely small amount; a tiny little bit.
- Tôi không ăn nhiều, chỉ ăn tí tị thôi. (I don't eat much, just a tiny little bit.)
Variants and Related Words
Tuổi tị (n): The age or zodiac sign of the Snake.
- Cô ấy cầm tinh con rắn, tuổi tị. (Her zodiac animal is the snake; she is of the Snake sign.)
Giờ tị (n): The two-hour period of the day (9 AM - 11 AM) ruled by the Snake zodiac branch.
Synonyms
- Verb: To envy, to begrudge, to be jealous.
- Noun (Quantity): A bit, a speck, a trace, a dash.
- Noun (Zodiac): The Snake (earthly branch).
Related Idioms
Con mắt tị: A jealous eye; a look of envy.
- Cô ấy nhìn chiếc váy mới của tôi bằng con mắt tị. (She looked at my new dress with a jealous eye.)
Tị tuông: Jealousy (often in a romantic context, though tị alone is more general or child-focused).
- Anh ấy hay tị tuông vô cớ. (He is often jealous for no reason.)