thêu dệt
Definition
- 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.)