Definition

1. Verb:
   • To carry (in the mouth or beak): Used for animals carrying objects or prey in their mouth or beak.
   • To drag along / to lug around: To carry or bring something along in a cumbersome, untidy, or bothersome manner.
   • To release / to set free: To let someone go from captivity, detention, or arrest.
   • To forgive / to pardon / to exempt: To excuse from blame, punishment, debt, or obligation.

Usage Examples

• To carry (in mouth/beak):
  • Con mèo tha con chuột vào bếp. (The cat carried the mouse into the kitchen.)
• To drag along:
  • Đứa trẻ tha món đồ chơi khắp nhà. (The child dragged the toy all over the house.)
• To release:
  • Cảnh sát đã tha người bị bắt vì thiếu bằng chứng. (The police released the detainee due to lack of evidence.)
• To forgive:
  • Xin hãy tha lỗi cho tôi. (Please forgive my mistake.)

Advanced Usage

• "tha phương cầu thực": To leave one's homeland to seek a living.
  • Nhiều người phải tha phương cầu thực. (Many people have to leave home to earn a living.)
• "tha hồ": Freely, to one's heart's content, without restriction.
  • Ở đây bạn có thể tha hồ bơi lội. (Here you can swim to your heart's content.)

Variants and Related Words

• Tha thứ (v): To forgive, to pardon (often for serious faults).
  • Cô ấy đã tha thứ cho sự phản bội. (She forgave the betrayal.)
• Thả (v): To release, to let go (often by opening one's hand or untying). "Thả" is a near-synonym for the "release" meaning of "tha," but "thả" implies a more direct, physical act of letting go.

Synonyms

• Carry: To transport something.
• Release: To set free from confinement.
• Forgive: To stop feeling resentment for an offense.
• Pardon: To excuse a serious offense officially.
• Exempt: To free from an obligation or duty.

Related Idioms

• Trời không dung, đất không tha: A grave sin that is intolerable to heaven and earth (literally: "Heaven does not tolerate, earth does not forgive").
  • Tội ác đó là trời không dung, đất không tha. (That crime is a monstrous evil.)
• Tha hương cầu thực: Same as "tha phương cầu thực" (to seek sustenance in a foreign land).
• Tha ma mộ địa: Graveyard, burial ground (literally: the place where ghosts/spirits are released).
  • Khu rừng đó bị đồn là một tha ma mộ địa. (That forest is rumored to be a burial ground.)

verb

1. to carry, to bring to take with to set free, to release to forgive, to exempt