Definition

1. Verb:
   • To break, to shatter: The primary meaning of "vỡ" refers to an object separating into pieces, often due to force or impact.
   • To burst, to rupture: Used for barriers, containers, or membranes that fail or break open, releasing their contents.
   • To be revealed, to leak out: When a secret or piece of information becomes known.
   • To clear, to break new ground: To prepare previously uncultivated land for farming.
   • To understand, to grasp: To suddenly comprehend or figure something out.

Usage Examples

• To break/shatter:
  • Cốc rơi vỡ. (The cup fell and broke.)
  • Gương vỡ lại lành. (A broken mirror can be mended. - Proverb)
• To burst/rupture:
  • Đê vỡ. (The dyke burst.)
  • Vỡ ối. (Water breaking - in pregnancy.)
• To be revealed:
  • Chuyện vỡ ra. (The story leaked out.)
• To clear land:
  • Vỡ một đám đất để trồng sắn. (To clear a plot of land to plant cassava.)
• To understand:
  • Bây giờ mới vỡ rõ nghĩa câu văn ấy. (Only now do I finally grasp the meaning of that sentence.)

Advanced Usage

• "tức nước vỡ bờ": A proverb meaning "extreme pressure leads to an outburst" or "the last straw." It describes a situation where忍耐 (endurance) has its limits.
  • Áp bức quá lâu, tức nước ắt vỡ bờ. (Oppressed for too long, people will eventually revolt.)
• "vỡ lẽ": To realize, to come to an understanding.
  • Nghe giải thích xong, tôi mới vỡ lẽ. (After hearing the explanation, I finally understood.)
• "dễ vỡ": Fragile, breakable.
  • Đồ sứ này rất dễ vỡ. (This porcelain is very fragile.)

Variants and Related Words

• Vỡ vụn (v): To shatter into tiny pieces.
  • Chiếc bình rơi xuống đất và vỡ vụn. (The vase fell to the ground and shattered.)
• Vỡ nợ (v): To go bankrupt, to fail financially.
  • Công ty đó đã vỡ nợ. (That company went bankrupt.)
• Vỡ hoang (v): To reclaim wasteland for cultivation.
  • Ông cha ta đã vỡ hoang lập làng. (Our ancestors cleared the wilderness to establish villages.)
• Vỡ mặt (adj/phrase): Slang for being badly beaten or defeated.
  • Đội bóng đó bị thua vỡ mặt. (That football team was utterly defeated.)

Synonyms

• Bể (v): To break, to crack (more common in Southern Vietnamese).
• Gãy (v): To break (usually for long, thin objects like sticks, bones).
• Nứt (v): To crack, to develop a fissure without necessarily separating completely.
• Tan vỡ (v): To break apart, to disintegrate (often used metaphorically for hopes, dreams).

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Vỡ ra: To burst open; to become revealed. Often used with secrets or news.
  • Sự thật đã vỡ ra. (The truth has come out.)
• Làm vỡ: To break something (transitive).
  • Đứa trẻ làm vỡ cái ly. (The child broke the glass.)

Related Idioms

• "Vỡ như bánh đa": To break/shatter easily (like a rice cracker). Emphasizes extreme fragility.
  • Chiếc điện thoại cũ này rơi một cái là vỡ như bánh đa. (If this old phone drops, it will shatter into pieces.)
• "Đầu vỡ máu chảy": Literally "broken head, flowing blood." Means to be severely injured in a fight.
  • Hai bên đánh nhau đến mức đầu vỡ máu chảy. (The two sides fought until they were severely injured.)

verb

1. to break to clear off