Definition

Verb phrase: To walk barefoot; to go barefoot. This phrase describes the action of walking without wearing any footwear on one's feet.

Usage

This phrase is used to describe the state or action of having one's feet directly in contact with the ground or floor, without shoes, sandals, or socks. * Trời nóng, bọn trẻ thích đi chân đất trong vườn. (It's hot, the children like to walk barefoot in the garden.) * Anh ấy quên mang dép, đành phải đi chân đất từ bãi đỗ xe về nhà. (He forgot his sandals, so he had to go barefoot from the parking lot to the house.) * Ở một số nền văn hóa, đi chân đất vào đền thờ bị coi là bất kính. (In some cultures, entering a temple barefoot is considered disrespectful.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase can be used metaphorically to describe a state of simplicity, poverty, or being unprepared.
  • Công ty mới thành lập, mọi thứ đều phải đi chân đất mà làm. (The company is newly established, we have to do everything from scratch / with very basic means.)
• It can describe a feeling of physical sensation.
  • Cảm giác đi chân đất trên cát ấm thật dễ chịu. (The feeling of walking barefoot on warm sand is very pleasant.)

Variants and Related Words

• Đi chân không: A direct synonym with the same meaning and usage as "đi chân đất".
• Chân đất (adj): Used as an adjective to describe someone who is barefoot.
  • Cậu bé chân đất chạy trên đường làng. (The barefoot boy ran on the village road.)
• Chân trần: Literally "bare feet", often used in more literary or descriptive contexts.
  • Những người nông dân chân trần trên đồng ruộng. (The farmers with bare feet in the fields.)

Synonyms

• To go barefoot: The most common and direct equivalent.
• To be barefoot: Describes the state rather than the action.
• To walk in bare feet: A more descriptive synonym.

Related Idioms/Phrases

• (Làm gì) bằng chân đất: To do something with very basic tools or from a starting point of having nothing.
  • Họ xây dựng cơ nghiệp bằng chân đất. (They built their fortune from the ground up / with bare hands.)

1. cũng nói đi chân không To go (walk) barefoot