siết

See also: siet and sieť

Vietnamese

Etymology

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 切 (“to cut, to slice, to be close to”, SV: thiết).

Pronunciation

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

• Audio (Saigon):

  (file)

Verb

siết • (切, 掣)

1. to run vigorously, describing the river's flow.

   Đợt xả lũ vừa rồi nước chảy siết thật.

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

2. to tighten with a firm grip, stranglehold or chokehold; compare thắt (“to tighten with a string or rope”)

   siết cổ ― to choke or strangle (someone)

   siết chặt ― to tighten, literally or figuratively, or to put more serious efforts into (something or doing something)

   siết chặt công tác thanh tra, kiểm tra ― to rigorously inspect and examine

3. (rare or dialectal) to cut off

   siết chùm cau ― to cut off a bunch of areca nuts