thoát
Definition
Verb:
- To escape: To get free from confinement, danger, or an unwanted situation.
- To exit / to be released: To come out or be let out from an enclosed space or a state.
- To get rid of / to be free from: To successfully remove oneself from a burden, obligation, or undesirable condition.
Adjective (in specific contexts):
- Fluid / natural: Describing a translation or performance that captures the essence of the original with ease and naturalness.
Usage Examples
Verb:
- Tù nhân đã thoát khỏi nhà giam. (The prisoner escaped from the jail.)
- Khói thoát ra từ ống khói. (Smoke exits from the chimney.)
- Cuối cùng anh ấy cũng thoát nợ. (He is finally free from debt.)
Adjective:
- Bản dịch này rất thoát. (This translation is very fluid/natural.)
Advanced Usage
"thoát hiểm": to escape from danger; often used for emergency exits or procedures.
- Hãy tìm lối thoát hiểm. (Please find the emergency exit.)
"thoát y": to disrobe; a literary term for removing clothing.
- Cảnh thoát y trong vở kịch. (The disrobing scene in the play.)
Variants and Related Words
Thoát thân (v): to escape with one's life, to save oneself.
- Nó may mắn thoát thân trong vụ tai nạn. (He was lucky to escape with his life in the accident.)
Thoát nước (v): to drain water.
- Cánh đồng cần hệ thống thoát nước tốt. (The field needs a good drainage system.)
Synonyms
- Escape: to break free.
- Exit: to go out.
- Evade: to avoid or elude.
- Natural: (for translations/performances) fluent, idiomatic.
Related Idioms
Thoát trần: to leave the mortal world; to die (a euphemistic and literary term).
- Cụ đã thoát trần ở tuổi trăm. (The elder left this world at the age of one hundred.)
Thoát vị: medical term for a hernia (literally, a protrusion that has escaped).
- Anh ấy bị thoát vị đĩa đệm. (He has a herniated disc.)