Definition

1. Verb:

   • To sharpen, to whittle: The primary meaning of "vót" is to make an object, typically made of wood or bamboo, smooth, round, or pointed by shaving or paring it with a knife or blade in light, repeated strokes.
   • To point: The action often results in creating a sharp, tapered point on the object.

2. Adjective (used after the main adjective):

   • Tapering and very tall; sharply rising: Describes something that is pointed and rises to a great height in a slender, steep manner.

Usage Examples

• Verb:

  • Bà ngoại vót những chiếc đũa tre. (Grandmother sharpens/whittles the bamboo chopsticks.)
  • Em bé vót bút chì cho nhọn. (The child sharpens the pencil to a point.)
  • Người thợ vót những cọc tre thành chông. (The craftsman sharpens the bamboo stakes into spikes.)

• Adjective:

  • Ngọn núi cao vót. (The mountain is towering and tapering.)
  • Tháp chuông nhọn vót. (The bell tower is sharply pointed.)

Advanced Usage

• "von vót": A reduplicative form (lặp từ) that intensifies the adjective meaning, emphasizing extreme height and a slender, piercing quality. It is often used to describe sounds that are high-pitched and seem to travel to a great height.
  • Tiếng hát vang lên von vót. (The singing voice rose, high and piercing.)
  • Ngọn tháp chọc trời von vót. (The sky-piercing tower rises extremely high and sharp.)

Variants and Related Words

• Gọt (v): To pare, to peel (e.g., fruit, vegetables). While "gọt" often involves removing skin, "vót" specifically involves shaping to a point or smooth roundness.
• Chuốt (v): To polish, to refine, to smoothen. Can be used similarly for shaping wood but often implies a finer, more finished result and can be used metaphorically for language or style (e.g., chuốt câu văn - to polish one's writing).

Synonyms

• Verb: To whittle, to sharpen, to point, to pare.
• Adjective: Tapering, soaring, towering, spire-like.

Related Idioms

• Cao vút/vót / Nhọn vút/vót: These are standard descriptive phrases, not idioms. "Vút" is a near-synonym for "vót" in the adjectival sense, also meaning tall and tapering or swift and high (e.g., bay vút lên - to soar/swiftly fly up).
  • Cây thông cao vút. (The pine tree is very tall and tapering.)
  • Mũi tên lao đi vút. (The arrow shot away swiftly.)

verb

1. to sharpen, to whittle