xiết

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [siət̚˧˦]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [siək̚˦˧˥]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [siək̚˦˥]

Verb

xiết

1. rub and press on the surface of something else.

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

   The woman absorbently rubbed and put pressure on every mung bean, preparing for the next culinary step.

2. run vigorously, usually to describe the river's flow.

   Đợt xả lũ vừa rồi nước chảy xiết thật.

   It was such a powerful river flow right after the water discharge of the electrical plant.

3. 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) greatly, or endlessly, accompanied with không or the like.

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

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

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

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

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