chém

See also: chêm

Vietnamese

Etymology

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 斬 (SV: trảm).

Pronunciation

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

Verb

chém • (𠛤, 𪟂, 𫥸)

1. to slash; to chop; to cut; to behead
2. (figurative, colloquial) to rip off; to sell too dear

   bị chém ― to be ripped off

3. Short for chém gió (“to brag, to boast”).

See also

• chém giết (“to slaughter”)
• chém gió (“to boast”)
• máy chém (“guillotine”)