tranh thủ

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 爭取 (“to strive for”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [t͡ɕajŋ̟˧˧ tʰu˧˩]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʈɛɲ˧˧ tʰʊw˧˨]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ʈan˧˧ tʰʊw˨˩˦]

Verb

tranh thủ

1. to attract support from other people
2. (colloquial) to make use of free time or waiting time

   Trong lúc chờ tranh thủ đọc nốt cuốn sách.

   I tried to finish my book while waiting.