Definition

1. Verb:

   • To throw away / to discard: To get rid of something by throwing it, often carelessly or forcefully.
   • To abandon / to cast aside: To leave something or someone behind; to give up on.

2. Adjective:

   • Hard / arduous / tough: Describes work, a task, or a situation that requires great effort and is physically or mentally taxing.
   • Difficult / troublesome: Describes something that is problematic or causes hardship.

Usage Examples

• Verb:

  • Anh ấy vất mảnh giấy vào thùng rác. (He threw the piece of paper into the trash can.)
  • Đừng vất đi cơ hội này. (Don't throw away this opportunity.)

• Adjective:

  • Công việc này thật sự rất vất. (This job is truly very hard.)
  • Đó là một quyết định vất vả. (That was a difficult decision.)

Advanced Usage

• "vất vả": This is the most common compound form, meaning "hardworking," "toiling," or describing something as "difficult and tiring."
  • Cô ấy đã làm việc rất vất vả. (She worked very hard.)
  • Một hành trình vất vả. (A arduous journey.)

Variants and Related Words

• Vứt (v): A more standard and common synonym for "to throw away." "Vất" can be considered a dialectal variant of "vứt."
  • Nó vứt cuốn sách lên bàn. (He threw the book onto the table.)

Synonyms

• Verb: Discard, toss, abandon.
• Adjective: Arduous, strenuous, tough, laborious.

Related Idioms

• Đầu tắt mặt tối: Literally "head extinguished, face dark," meaning to be extremely busy from morning till night, toiling without rest. This idiom conveys a similar sense of hardship as "vất vả."
  • Họ làm việc đầu tắt mặt tối để nuôi con. (They work tirelessly from dawn to dusk to raise their children.)