xỉ vả
Definition
- Verb:
- To revile / to vilify: To criticize someone in a very harsh, insulting, and abusive manner, often with the intent to humiliate or degrade them.
- To berate abusively: To scold or condemn someone using offensive and contemptuous language.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Anh ta bị sếp xỉ vả trước mặt cả phòng. (He was reviled by his boss in front of the whole office.)
- Đừng xỉ vả người khác chỉ vì họ mắc lỗi. (Don't berate others abusively just because they made a mistake.)
- Bà ấy xỉ vả hàng xóm vì chuyện nhỏ. (She vilified her neighbor over a trivial matter.)
Advanced Usage
- The term "xỉ vả" carries a strong connotation of unjust, excessive, and demeaning verbal attack. It is more severe than simple criticism or scolding.
- It often implies a power imbalance, where the person doing the "xỉ vả" is in a position to humiliate the recipient publicly or privately.
Variants and Related Words
- Mắng nhiếc (v): to scold and curse; a close synonym, though sometimes considered slightly less intense than "xỉ vả."
- Chửi bới (v): to swear at, to curse. This focuses more on the use of profanity, while "xỉ vả" emphasizes degrading criticism.
- Lăng mạ (v): to insult, to offend. This is a formal term for insulting someone's honor.
Synonyms
- Revile: To criticize in an abusive or angrily insulting manner.
- Vilify: To speak or write about in a very abusive manner.
- Berate: To scold or criticize angrily.
- Abuse: To use harsh and insulting language.
Related Idioms
- Xỉ vả thậm tệ: To revile someone terribly or outrageously.
- Ông chủ đã xỉ vả thậm tệ nhân viên. (The boss reviled the employee outrageously.)
- While "xỉ vả" itself is a strong verb, it is commonly intensified with adverbs like "thậm tệ" (terribly) or "tàn nhẫn" (cruelly) to emphasize the severity of the verbal abuse.