vất
Definition
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.
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.)