Definition

1. Verb:
   • To embroider (figurative) / To fabricate: To invent or concoct a story, details, or information, often with malicious intent or to deceive. It implies adding false, elaborate details to a narrative.
   • To weave (a tale): To craft a story or account that is not entirely true, embellishing it with fictitious elements.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Hắn ta thêu dệt đủ thứ chuyện để hại tôi. (He fabricated all sorts of stories to harm me.)
  • Câu chuyện cảm động đó hoàn toàn do cô ấy thêu dệt. (That touching story was completely embroidered by her.)
  • Đừng tin những lời đồn thêu dệt. (Don't believe the embroidered rumors.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is almost exclusively used in a negative sense, implying deception, slander, or malicious gossip. It describes the act of creating a false narrative, not simply making a minor mistake.

Variants and Related Words

• Bịa đặt (v): to fabricate, to invent (a lie). Often used interchangeably with "thêu dệt," though "bịa đặt" can sound more blunt.

  • Tôi không bịa đặt chuyện đó. (I did not fabricate that story.)

• Thêm mắm thêm muối (idiomatic expression): to embellish a story, to add spicy details. This can be less malicious than "thêu dệt," sometimes done for entertainment.

  • Anh ấy kể chuyện hay thêm mắm thêm muối. (He tells stories and likes to embellish them.)

Synonyms

• Fabricate: To invent or concoct, typically with deceitful intent.
• Concoct: To devise or make up a story, plan, etc., often skillfully.
• Embroider (figurative): To add fictitious or exaggerating details to a story.
• Weave (a tale): To create a story, often implying craft and invention.

Related Idioms

• Chuyện thêu dệt: An embroidered/fabricated story.

  • Tất cả chỉ là chuyện thêu dệt. (It's all just a fabricated story.)

• Thêu dệt chuyện: The common collocation meaning "to fabricate a story."

  • Báo chí đã thêu dệt chuyện về đời tư của ngôi sao. (The press fabricated stories about the star's private life.)