Definition

1. Verb:
   • To turn up, to roll up, to tuck up: The primary meaning refers to the action of folding or pushing up a part of clothing, like sleeves or pants, to make it shorter and neater, often to prevent it from getting dirty or wet.
   • To cut into, to slice into, to detach by pressing in: A secondary meaning refers to using a tool (like a shovel, knife, or chopsticks) to press down and cut into, split, or separate a piece from a softer mass or object.

Usage Examples

• Verb (To roll up):

  • Trời nóng, anh ấy xắn tay áo lên. (It's hot, he rolls up his sleeves.)
  • Trước khi rửa chén, cô ấy xắn tay áo lại. (Before washing dishes, she tucks up her sleeves.)
  • Để lội qua suối, họ phải xắn quần lên. (To wade across the stream, they have to roll up their pants.)

• Verb (To cut/slice into):

  • Người nông dân dùng cuốc để xắn đất. (The farmer uses a hoe to break the soil.)
  • Bà dùng đũa để xắn một miếng bánh chưng. (She uses chopsticks to detach a piece of sticky rice cake.)
  • Anh ta xắn một miếng bơ lớn. (He cuts off a large piece of butter.)

Advanced Usage

• "xắn tay áo": This is a very common fixed phrase meaning "to roll up one's sleeves." It can be used literally or figuratively to indicate preparing to start hard work.

  • Chúng ta phải xắn tay áo vào làm việc thôi! (We must roll up our sleeves and get to work!)

• "xắn quần": A common phrase meaning "to roll up one's pants/trousers."

  • Nước ngập, mọi người đều xắn quần. (The water was flooded, everyone rolled up their pants.)

Variants and Related Words

• Xăn: (Variant, less common) Has the same meaning as "xắn" for rolling up clothing.
• Vén: (Verb) To lift up, to tuck up. Similar to "xắn" but often implies lifting and holding in place (e.g., vén tóc - to push hair back). "Xắn" implies a folding action to keep it up.
• Cuốn: (Verb) To roll. Can be used for rolling up sleeves () but is more general (e.g., roll a carpet, roll a newspaper).

Synonyms

• Kéo lên: To pull up (clothing).
• Cắt: To cut. More general than the specific pressing and detaching action of "xắn."
• Tách ra: To separate, to detach.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Xắn lên: (Informal) An encouraging phrase meaning to put in more effort, to work harder. It derives from the image of rolling up sleeves to work.
  • Công việc còn nhiều, mọi người xắn lên! (There's still a lot of work, everyone needs to put in more effort!)

Related Idioms

• Xắn tay áo làm việc: To roll up one's sleeves and work. This idiom directly uses the literal action to mean getting down to serious, hands-on work.
  • Thấy bề bộn, anh ấy liền xắn tay áo làm việc ngay. (Seeing the mess, he immediately rolled up his sleeves and got to work.)

verb

1. to turn up, to roll up, to tuck up