Tiếng Việt · Word Attested

bó tay

[ʔɓɔ˧˦ taj˧˧] 🎙 Say it

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

(verb) to feel hopeless because there is nothing you can do to help or improve a bad situation

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

cảm thấy tuyệt vọng vì không thể giúp đỡ

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

VerbRegister: informal

Where it’s used: Used Toàn quốc & hải ngoại · Vietnam-wide & diaspora

Thằng đó nói mãi chả nghe. Tao bó tay với nó luôn.He never listens to me. I just can't even with him.

Wiktionary example (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Sources & notes

Imported from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); community review pending. source ↗

Topics: Hands

Common questions

What does “bó tay” mean?

(verb) to feel hopeless because there is nothing you can do to help or improve a bad situation

Is “bó tay” formal or informal?

bó tay is generally informal.

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