Definition

1. Verb:
   • To draw, to paint: To create or evoke an image of something on a flat surface using lines, strokes, or colors. This is the primary and most common meaning.
   • To indicate, to show (the way): To point out or explain a method, path, or way of doing something. This is a figurative usage.
   • To complicate, to add unnecessary things: To invent or add superfluous details, making something more complicated than necessary. This is a colloquial, often negative, usage.

Usage Examples

• To draw, to paint:

  • Em bé thích vẽ những bức tranh nhiều màu sắc. (The child likes to draw colorful pictures.)
  • Hoạ sĩ đang vẽ phong cảnh bằng sơn dầu. (The artist is painting a landscape with oil paints.)
  • Anh ấy vẽ một vòng tròn lên giấy. (He drew a circle on the paper.)

• To indicate, to show:

  • Ông ấy vẽ đường cho tôi đi đến bưu điện. (He showed me the way to the post office.)
  • Cô giáo vẽ cho học sinh cách giải bài toán. (The teacher showed the students how to solve the math problem.)

• To complicate, to add unnecessarily:

  • Công việc đơn giản vậy, đừng có vẽ ra cho phức tạp. (The task is simple, don't complicate it.)
  • Chỉ cần nói thẳng, đừng vẽ vời thêm. (Just say it directly, don't add unnecessary details.)

Advanced Usage

• "vẽ ra": To conjure up, to imagine, or to invent (often something complex or unnecessary from a simple basis).
  • Anh ta có tài vẽ ra những câu chuyện hấp dẫn. (He has a talent for conjuring up fascinating stories.)
  • Đừng vẽ ra chuyện. (Don't make up stories / Don't invent problems.)

Variants and Related Words

• Hình vẽ (n): A drawing, a sketch, an illustration.
  • Cuốn sách có nhiều hình vẽ minh hoạ đẹp. (The book has many beautiful illustration drawings.)
• Nét vẽ (n): A brushstroke, a line in a drawing.
  • Nét vẽ của hoạ sĩ rất tinh tế. (The artist's brushstrokes are very delicate.)
• Tranh vẽ (n): A painting, a drawn picture.
• Vẽ vời (v): To embellish unnecessarily, to add frivolous or ornate details (often with a negative connotation).
  • Bài văn hay nhưng đừng vẽ vời quá. (The essay is good, but don't over-embellish it.)

Synonyms

• Phác hoạ: To sketch, to outline.
• Tô màu: To color.
• Chỉ dẫn: To instruct, to guide (for the meaning "to show the way").
• Làm phức tạp: To complicate (for the negative meaning).

Related Idioms

• Vẽ rắn thêm chân: Literally "to draw legs on a snake." It means to add superfluous or unnecessary details to something that is already complete, often ruining it. (Similar to "to gild the lily").
  • Bản báo cáo đã đầy đủ, đừng vẽ rắn thêm chân. (The report is already complete, don't add unnecessary details.)
• Vẽ đường cho hươu chạy: Literally "to draw a path for the deer to run." It means to facilitate wrongdoing, to create an opportunity for bad behavior.
  • Cho con quá nhiều tiền là vẽ đường cho hươu chạy. (Giving your child too much money is creating a path for trouble.)
• Vẽ mày vẽ mặt: To embellish, to prettify, to make something/someone appear better than they are.
  • Bài báo chỉ vẽ mày vẽ mặt cho công ty đó. (The article just prettifies that company's image.)

verb

1. draw, to paint to contrive