Definition

1. Verb:

   • To prod or to poke: To push or jab someone or something with a blunt or pointed object, often to get attention or to urge movement.
   • To urge or to press: To encourage or pressure someone to do something more quickly or immediately.
   • To hasten or to accelerate: To cause a process or action to happen faster.

2. Verb (Culinary):

   • To mix in seasoning: In cooking, specifically when making certain types of Vietnamese sausage (giò), it refers to the step of mixing in fish sauce during the final pounding process.

Usage Examples

• Verb (To prod):
  • Anh ta thúc cùi chỏ vào tôi. (He prodded his elbow into me.)
• Verb (To urge):
  • Giáo viên thúc học sinh làm bài tập. (The teacher urges the students to do their homework.)
  • Chủ nợ đến thúc nợ. (The creditor came to press for debt repayment.)
• Verb (Culinary):
  • Sau khi giã thịt, phải thúc nước mắm vào. (After pounding the meat, you must mix in the fish sauce.)

Advanced Usage

• "thúc hối": to hasten, to press urgently.
  • Họ liên tục thúc hối tôi đưa ra quyết định. (They continuously pressed me to make a decision.)
• "thúc cấp": to press for urgent delivery or completion.
  • Khách hàng đang thúc cấp đơn hàng. (The client is pressing for urgent delivery of the order.)

Variants and Related Words

• Thúc giục (v): to urge, to hurry someone along. This is a very common compound.
  • Đừng thúc giục tôi. (Don't rush me.)
• Thúc đẩy (v): to promote, to propel, to drive forward (often used for processes or development).
  • Công nghệ mới thúc đẩy tăng trưởng kinh tế. (New technology promotes economic growth.)
• Thúc ngựa (v): to spur a horse.
  • Người kỵ sĩ thúc ngựa phi nước đại. (The rider spurred the horse to gallop.)

Synonyms

• Prod: to poke with a finger or object.
• Urge: to strongly encourage.
• Hasten: to cause something to happen sooner.
• Press: to insist on something being done.

Related Idioms

• Thúc thủ (v): to surrender, to give up (literally "to urge/press the hands," meaning to raise hands in surrender).
  • Kẻ cướp đã phải thúc thủ. (The robber had to surrender.)
• Thúc bách: to compel, to force (due to pressure).
  • Hoàn cảnh thúc bách anh ta phải làm việc đó. (Circumstances compelled him to do that.)