xiết

Vietnamese

Etymology

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 折 (“to break off, to pluck off”, SV: chiết).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [siət̚˧˦]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [siək̚˦˧˥]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [siək̚˦˥]
• Homophone: siết (in dialects which merge ⟨s⟩ and ⟨x⟩)

Verb

xiết

1. to rub and press on the surface of something else by a tube

   Bà hì hục xiết từng hạt đậu xanh rồi chuẩn bị cho công đoạn kế tiếp.

   The woman focused to rub and put pressure on every mung bean, preparing for the next culinary step.

2. to deprive of something, especially the property of someone, regardless of their disapproval, as in xiết nợ

   Nó làm ăn kiểu gì mà bọn xã hội đen đến tận nhà nó xiết nợ kìa.

   I have no clue how the man run his own business, but some gangster has reached his home to deprive him of the asset.

Adverb

xiết

1. (literary, chiefly in the negative) greatly, or endlessly

   Trường báo mình đỗ rồi, mừng không kể xiết á.

   I got accepted into my beloved school, and I am greatly exhilarated.

2. (dialectal, always preceded by không) hardly, or barely

   Tảng đá này nặng quá, hai người khiêng không xiết.

   The stone was so heavy that even two of us could hardly carry it.