Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Angry; indignant: Feeling strong displeasure, irritation, or resentment, often due to a perceived injustice or offense.
   • Stifling; oppressive; tight: Causing a physical sensation of pressure, constriction, or discomfort, making it hard to breathe or move freely.

2. Noun:

   • Interest (on capital or a loan): Money paid regularly at a particular rate for the use of borrowed money or for delaying the repayment of a debt.

3. Conjunction / Particle:

   • That is; namely; i.e.: Used to introduce an explanation, clarification, or restatement of what has just been said. Often appears in the full form "tức là".

Usage Examples

• Adjective (Angry):

  • Tôi rất tức vì bị đối xử bất công. (I am very angry because I was treated unfairly.)
  • Câu nói đó khiến anh ấy tức điên lên. (That statement made him furious.)

• Adjective (Stifling):

  • Căn phòng ngột ngạt, tức thở. (The room is stuffy and stifling.)
  • Chiếc áo này tức nách quá. (This shirt is too tight under the arms.)

• Noun (Interest):

  • Tiền vay với mức tức rất cao. (A loan with very high interest.)
  • Tính cả gốc lẫn tức. (Calculate both the principal and the interest.)

• Conjunction (That is):

  • Chuyên chính nhân dân, tức chuyên chính vô sản. (People's dictatorship, that is, proletarian dictatorship.)
  • Anh ấy là kiến trúc sư, tức (là) người thiết kế tòa nhà này. (He is the architect, namely the person who designed this building.)

Advanced Usage

• "tức nước vỡ bờ": Literally "when the water is full, the bank breaks". An idiom meaning oppression or pressure builds to a breaking point, leading to an outburst or rebellion.

  • Sự áp bức kéo dài, tức nước vỡ bờ, người dân nổi dậy. (The prolonged oppression reached a breaking point, and the people rebelled.)

• "tức tưởi": To feel deeply wronged, resentful, and on the verge of tears due to injustice.

  • Cô ấy cảm thấy tức tưởi vì bị hiểu lầm. (She felt deeply wronged and resentful because she was misunderstood.)

Variants and Related Words

• Tức giận / Tức bực (adj): Angry, furious, irritated. These are more specific and common forms for expressing anger.

  • Đừng tức giận như vậy. (Don't be so angry.)

• Tức là (conj): That is to say; in other words; meaning. The full, standard form of the conjunction.

  • "Hà Nội thủ đô" tức là Hà Nội là thủ đô. ("Hà Nội thủ đô" means that Hanoi is the capital.)

• Tức thời (adj): Immediate, instantaneous.

  • Phản ứng tức thời. (An immediate reaction.)

Synonyms

• Angry: Giận, cáu, bực tức, phẫn nộ.
• Stifling: Ngột ngạt, nghẹt thở, bí.
• Interest: Lãi, lợi tức.
• That is: Nghĩa là, có nghĩa là, tức là.

Related Idioms

• Tức anh ách: To be bursting with anger, to be seething with rage.

  • Nghe tin đó, ông ấy tức anh ách. (Hearing that news, he was seething with rage.)

• Tức cành hông: (Very colloquial/slang) To be extremely angry, "to have one's side hurt from anger".

  • Bị lừa, nó tức cành hông. (He was cheated and got extremely angry.)