làm khó

Vietnamese

Etymology

làm (“to make”) +‎ khó (“difficult”).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [laːm˨˩ xɔ˧˦]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [laːm˦˩ kʰɔ˨˩˦] ~ [laːm˦˩ xɔ˨˩˦]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [laːm˨˩ kʰɔ˦˥] ~ [laːm˨˩ xɔ˦˥]

Verb

làm khó

1. (literal) to make something more difficult
2. to antagonize

   Ông không chịu để em yên thân, suốt ngày làm khó em.

   He doesn't wanna leave me alone, he's always trying to make my life hell.

   Xin đừng làm khó nhau.

   Please stop make it more difficult for each of us.

Usage notes

Not to be confused with làm khổ (“to make someone suffer”).