treo cổ
Definition
Verb (transitive):
- To hang (by the neck): The primary meaning refers to the act of executing someone or causing death by suspending them by the neck with a noose.
- To be hanged: Used in the passive sense to describe the state or fate of being executed in this manner.
Verb (intransitive, colloquial):
- To hang oneself: Refers to the act of suicide by hanging.
Usage Examples
Verb (transitive):
- Tòa án xử treo cổ tên tội phạm. (The court sentenced the criminal to be hanged.)
- Trong lịch sử, kẻ phản bội thường bị treo cổ. (In history, traitors were often hanged.)
Verb (intransitive):
- Người ta nói hắn đã treo cổ tự tử. (They say he hanged himself.)
Advanced Usage
- The phrase is almost exclusively used in the context of capital punishment or suicide. It carries a strong, grim connotation and is not used for the general act of hanging an object.
Variants and Related Words
- Treo cổ tự tử (v): to commit suicide by hanging.
- Áp lực quá lớn khiến anh ta nghĩ đến chuyện treo cổ tự tử. (The immense pressure made him consider suicide by hanging.)
Synonyms
- Execute by hanging: To put to death via suspension by the neck.
- Hang: The general English equivalent for execution or suicide by this method.
Related Idioms
Đáng treo cổ: Deserves to be hanged. An expression of strong moral condemnation.
- Tên lừa đảo đó thật đáng treo cổ. (That swindler really deserves to be hanged.)
Treo đầu dê, bán thịt chó: Literally "to hang a goat's head but sell dog meat." An idiom meaning to engage in fraud or deception, to misrepresent what is being sold. While it contains "treo" (to hang), it is a distinct figurative expression.
- Cửa hàng đó treo đầu dê, bán thịt chó, toàn hàng giả. (That shop is fraudulent, selling fake goods.)