Definition

1. Verb:
   • To swell; to be bloated: To expand in size, typically due to absorbing liquid or gas. Often used to describe organic matter like a corpse, grains, or body parts.
   • To unfurl; to set up; to spread out: To open or stretch something out to its full extent so that it is displayed or made taut. Commonly used for flags, sails, eyes, or banners.

Usage Examples

• To swell:
  • Gạo ngâm nước sẽ trương ra. (Rice will swell when soaked in water.)
  • Xác chết đuối đã trương lên. (The drowning victim's corpse had swollen.)
• To unfurl / To set up:
  • Thuyền trương buồm ra khơi. (The boat set sail for the open sea.)
  • Họ trương biểu ngữ trước tòa nhà. (They unfurled a banner in front of the building.)

Advanced Usage

• "trương mắt": to open one's eyes wide (in surprise, anger, or intense looking).
  • Anh ta trương mắt nhìn kẻ lạ mặt. (He opened his eyes wide to look at the stranger.)
• Used in mathematics (archaic): to subtend (a chord subtending an arc).
  • Dây cung trương một cung tròn. (The chord subtends an arc of the circle.)

Variants and Related Words

• Giương (v): A near-synonym, more commonly used for "to raise," "to erect," or "to aim" (e.g., – to raise a flag; – to aim a gun). "Trương" and "giương" are often interchangeable for "to unfurl."
• Phình (v): to bulge, to distend. More focused on the swelling/bloating aspect.
• Căng (v): to stretch, to tighten. Implies tension.

Synonyms

• Swell / Bloat: expand, distend, inflate.
• Unfurl / Spread out: display, hoist, raise, extend.

Related Idioms

• Chết trương: to die and become bloated (often referring to drowning).
  • Thi thể được tìm thấy trong tình trạng chết trương. (The body was found in a bloated state.)
• Cơm trương: rice that has become swollen and mushy from absorbing too much water.
  • Nấu nhiều nước quá, cơm bị trương hết. (Too much water was used, the rice became all bloated.)

verb

1. to swell, to be bloated to unfurl, to set up