xắn
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- 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
- to turn up, to roll up, to tuck up