trừ bì
Definition
- Verb:
- To tare / to deduct the tare weight: The primary commercial meaning of "trừ bì" is to subtract the weight of the packaging or container to determine the net weight of the contents.
- To discount / to take with a grain of salt: In a figurative and colloquial sense, "trừ bì" means to discount or not fully believe the exaggerations or embellishments in someone's story or boastful talk.
Usage Examples
- Verb (commercial):
- Cân hàng hóa phải trừ bì. (When weighing goods, you must tare the scale.)
- Giá này là giá trừ bì rồi. (This price is already net of packaging weight.)
- Verb (figurative):
- Anh ta nói chuyện hay phóng đại, phải biết trừ bì. (He tends to exaggerate when he talks, so you have to take it with a grain of salt.)
- Câu chuyện nghe hấp dẫn, nhưng cần trừ bì một nửa. (The story sounds exciting, but you need to discount half of it.)
Advanced Usage
- The term is most formally used in commerce, logistics, and trade to specify net weight calculations. The figurative usage is informal and often used in conversational contexts to advise skepticism.
Variants and Related Words
- Cân trừ bì (v): to weigh after deducting the tare; to perform a tare weighing.
- Cửa hàng vàng luôn cân trừ bì. (Gold shops always weigh after deducting the tare.)
- Trọng lượng trừ bì (n): net weight.
- Trọng lượng trừ bì của kiện hàng là 5kg. (The net weight of the shipment is 5kg.)
Synonyms
- To tare: (commercial) to allow for or deduct the weight of a container.
- To discount: (figurative) to disregard or reduce the credibility of something.
- To take with a pinch of salt: (idiomatic, figurative) to not completely believe something.
Related Idioms
- While "trừ bì" itself is often used idiomatically, there is no common, fixed Vietnamese idiom that uses this exact phrase beyond its standard figurative meaning.