tô màu
Definition
Verb:
- To color / to colour: The primary meaning of "tô màu" is the act of applying color to a surface, typically within outlined areas such as in a coloring book, a drawing, or a design. It implies filling spaces with color using tools like crayons, markers, or paints.
Verb (figurative):
- To embellish / to add detail: In a metaphorical sense, "tô màu" can mean to enhance a story or description by adding vivid, often exaggerated, details.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Đứa trẻ đang tô màu cho bức tranh. (The child is coloring the picture.)
- Cô ấy tô màu lên bản vẽ kiến trúc. (She is applying color to the architectural drawing.)
- Verb (figurative):
- Anh ấy thích tô màu cho câu chuyện của mình. (He likes to embellish his stories.)
Advanced Usage
- "tô màu nước": to paint with watercolors.
- Chúng tôi học cách tô màu nước trong lớp mỹ thuật. (We learned how to paint with watercolors in art class.)
Variants and Related Words
- Tô vẽ (v): to paint, to depict; often used more for artistic painting or figurative depiction.
- Họa sĩ tô vẽ cảnh hoàng hôn. (The artist painted the sunset scene.)
Synonyms
- Color / Colour: to apply color.
- Fill in: to add color to a defined area.
- Paint: to apply a liquid color with a brush.
Related Idioms
Tô hồng: to paint a rosy picture; to describe something in an overly optimistic or idealized way.
- Bài báo đó đã tô hồng thực trạng kinh tế. (That article painted a rosy picture of the economic situation.)
Tô đen: to blacken; to defame or portray something negatively.
- Đối thủ chính trị cố tình tô đen danh tiếng của ông ấy. (His political opponent deliberately tried to blacken his reputation.)