Definition

1. Verb:

   • To chisel; to carve: To use a chisel or similar tool to cut, shape, or engrave a hard material like wood, stone, or metal by striking it.
   • To bore; to hollow out: To make a hole or tunnel into something, often by gnawing or drilling (e.g., insects boring into wood).
   • (Figurative, colloquial) To embezzle; to graft: To illicitly take money or resources, often from public funds, through corrupt practices.

2. Adjective:

   • Murky; cloudy; opaque: Describing a liquid that is not clear or transparent due to suspended particles.
   • Dull; muffled: Describing a sound that is low, heavy, and not clear or resonant.
   • Turbid; impure: Describing something that is morally or physically unclean or muddled.

Usage Examples

• Verb:

  • Người thợ đục một bức tượng từ khối đá. (The artisan chiseled a statue from the stone block.)
  • Con mối đục thủng tấm ván gỗ. (The termite bored through the wooden plank.)
  • Bị cáo bị kết tội đục khoét ngân sách nhà nước. (The defendant was convicted of embezzling state funds.)

• Adjective:

  • Nước sông trở nên đục sau cơn mưa lớn. (The river water became murky after the heavy rain.)
  • Ông ấy có giọng nói trầm và hơi đục. (He has a deep and somewhat dull voice.)
  • Những ý đồ đục đã bị vạch trần. (The impure motives were exposed.)

Advanced Usage

• "đục khoét": to embezzle; to pilfer systematically.

  • Nhóm quan chức tham nhũng bị tố cáo đục khoét công quỹ. (The corrupt officials were accused of systematically embezzling public funds.)

• "đục thủy tinh thể": (medical) cataract.

  • Bà cụ phải phẫu thuật do đục thủy tinh thể. (The old lady had to have surgery for a cataract.)

Variants and Related Words

• Đục đẽo (v): to chisel and shape roughly; to work on something crudely.

  • Họ đục đẽo khúc gỗ thành hình thù cơ bản. (They roughly chiseled the log into a basic shape.)

• Lỗ đục (n): a bored hole; a cavity made by drilling or gnawing.

  • Chiếc bàn có nhiều lỗ đục của mọt. (The table has many holes bored by woodworms.)

Synonyms

• Verb: Carve, engrave, gouge, drill, pilfer.
• Adjective: Cloudy, turbid, muddy, muffled, hoarse.

Related Idioms

• Chết trong hơn sống đục: Better to die with honor than to live in disgrace. (Literally: Better to die clear than to live murky.)

  • Cụ tổ dạy con cháu phải giữ khí tiết: chết trong hơn sống đục. (The ancestor taught his descendants to preserve their integrity: better to die with honor than to live in disgrace.)

• Nước đục thả câu: To take advantage of a chaotic or confused situation. (Literally: To fish in murky water.)

  • Bọn lừa đảo thích kiểu nước đục thả câu. (Scammers like the "fishing in murky water" approach.)

verb

1. to chisel; to carve; to chase chisel