FORMAL

(Trang trọng)

NEUTRAL/ LESS FORMAL/ INFORMAL

(Trung lập/ Ít hoặc không trang trọng)

MEANING

EXAMPLE

Accord

Agreement

Phù hợp, đồng ý

An accord => agreement between two countries

Acquire

Obtain/ get (less formal)

Thu được, đạt được

Acquire / get reputation / obtain qualification

Address (v)

Give attention to

Chú tâm vào/ xử lý

Address / give attention to a topic / an issue

Address (v)

Speak to/ speak/talk about

Phát biểu/Nói chuyện với

Address / speak to the meeting/ crowd

Adjudicate

Judge

Phân xử/Xét xử

Adjudicate/ judge a contest/ dispute

Administer

Give

Phân phát/ Quản lý, trông nom

Administer/ give a drug/ medicine to a patient

Advantages and disadvantages

Pros and cons (informal)

Ưu điểm và nhược điểm

Offer advantages and disadvantages/ pros and cons

Advocate (v)

Support, encourage

Tán thành, ủng hộ

We do not advocate/ support/ encourage the use of questionnaires with young children

Aim

Set out ( to do s.t)

Nhằm/ tập trung vào

In this paper, we aim/ set out to challenge some current assumptions.

Albeit

Although

Mặc dù

The chairman accepted the job, albeit/ although there was some hesitation.

Appeal for / appeal to s.b for s.t

Ask for

Yêu cầu

The police are appealing/ asking for any information the public can offer.

Attempt

Try/ have a shot at (informal)

Nỗ lực, cố gắng/ thử

Attempt / try a hard task

Attire

Clothes

Trang phục

She always wore rather old-fashioned attire/clothes.

Be accepted / be offered a place

Get in (informal)

Được chấp nhận / nhận vào

I hope to get in / be accepted / be offered a place to study engineering.

Call on / upon

Ask (somebody to do something)

Nhờ (ai làm gì)

Call on/upon / ask expertise

Catalogue (n)

List

Danh mục

Publish a catalogue / list

Characteristic (Adj)

Typical

Đặc trưng

Characteristic / typical trail

Compose

Write

Soạn, biên soạn

Compose / write a poem/ letter/ symphony

Conduct

Carry out, do (less formal)

Tiến hành

Conduct an experiment / research / a study

Conduct (n)

Behavior

Đạo đức, cách cư xử

Such conduct/behavior is unacceptable.

Consist of

Be made up of

Bao gồm

Consist of / be made up of wood and metal

Constitute

Make up

Cấu tạo, tạo thành

Constitute /make up an achievement

Consult (v)

Read, look at

Tra cứu

Consult / Read, look at a document/archive

Contest (v)

Argue against, disagree with

Tranh luận

Contest/argue against/disagree with a judgment.

Convention

Agreement

Hiệp định, thỏa thuận

No written convention/agreement existed until 1984.

Cordial

Friendly

Thân mật

Cordial/friendly relations between governments

Correct

Right

Chính xác

It took hours of calculations to arrive at the correct/ right answer.

Deliver

Give

Phát biểu/ Cung cấp

Deliver/give a talk/lecture

Demonstrate

Show

Chứng minh

Demonstrate /show competence to do s.t

Describe

Set out

Mô tả

Describe / set out a strategic plan

Diminish

Decrease, grow smaller

Giảm thiểu, thu nhỏ

The population has diminished/decreased / grown smaller.

Discuss

Go into

Thảo luận

Discuss / go into a question

Dispose of

Get rid of

Vứt bỏ

Dispose of / get rid of nuclear waste

Document (v)

Record/ write about

Ghi lại tài liệu

Document /Record/ write about the occurrence 

Dormitory

Dorm

Ký túc xá

BrE = hall of residence

Dwelling

House, flat, apartment

Nơi cư ngụ

There were originally 50 dwellings/houses/flats/ apartments on the site.

Endure

Last

Tồn tại,kéo dài /chịu đựng

The dynasty endured/lasted/ for eight centuries.

Examination

Exam (slight informal)

Kỳ thi , khảo sát

An entrance examination

Examine

Take/have a look at (informal)

Kiểm tra

examine/take/have a look at your essay before submitting it

Exceed

Be more, higher, greater than

Vượt quá

The cost of the project is reported to exceed / be more than 20 milion dollars

Exchange

Swap (informal)

Đổi

The tube was exchanged/swapped for one of a larger caliber.

Final

Last

Sau cùng

The final/ last warning

Hierarchy

Pecking order

Tôn ty trật tự, thứ bậc

hierarchy/pecking order in an institution

Highlight

Point up

Nhấn mạnh,làm nổi bật

The study highlight/ point up the problems of inner-city area.

Improper

Wrong

Không phù hợp/sai

Improper/wrong procedure

In excess of

Over, higher than

Vượt quá

The book sold in excess of/ over 20.000 copies.

In greater detail

In more detail

Chi tiết hơn

The problems should be discuss in greater / more detail.

In respect of, with respect to

With regard to, as far as X is concerned, as far as X goes (informal)

Đối với

In respect of/ with respect to/with regard to civil rights/ as far as civil rights is concerned/ as far as civil rights goes, all citizens are equal under the law.

In sum, in summary

In short, to sum up, summing up

Tóm lại, tóm tắt

Inappropriate

Unsuitable

Không thích hợp

Inappropriate/ unsuitable form of words

Incorrect

Wrong

Không chính xác

The totals in column 3 are incorrect/wrong.

Incur

Result in, experience

Gánh, chịu

To incur/ result in a huge burden of increasing the expenses for social welfare   

Instigate

Initiate, start something

Xúi giục/ khởi xướng

Instigate/ initiate/ start a quarrel

Instruct

Direct, order

Hướng dẫn

Instruct/direct/order somebody to carry out a task

Investigate

Look into (slightly informal)

Điều tra

Investigate / look into a problem

Laboratory

Lab

Phòng thí nghiệm

Maintain

Keep

Duy trì

Maintain one’s fitness/ keep fit

Make reference to

Refer to

Tham khảo

Make reference/ refer to books and materials

Negotiations

Talks

Đàm phán

Negotiations/ talks between governments

Nevertheless

Having said that

Tuy nhiên

Their work has been fairly good. Nevertheless/ Having said that, I still think there's room for improvement

Occasion

Time

Cơ hội,dịp

It happened three times/ on three occasions

Occupation

Job, profession

Nghề nghiệp

What is your occupation/ profession/ job?

Omit, not attend something

Skip (informal)

Bỏ qua, không tham dự một cái gì đó

Do not attend/ Skip a lecture, omit/ skip a chapter

Pledge

Promise

Hứa, cam kết

Pledge/ Promise a donation to

Pose

Ask

Đặt ra, đưa ra

Pose/ ask a question

Postgraduate

Postgrad (informal)

Nghiên cứu sinh

Present

Put forward

Trình bày/ đưa ra

Present/ put forward an idea/ view/ theory, etc

Primary

Main

Chủ yếu

Primary/ main cause

Recapitulate

Recap

Tổng hợp lại, tóm lại

To recapitulate/ recap

Recently

Lately

Gần đây

These animals have not been seen recently/ lately.

Representative

Rep (informal)

Đại diện

She’s the student representative/ rep on the Departmental Committee.

Resign

Quit (informal)

Từ chức

The President resigned/ quit in 1986.

Resolve

Solve, end

Giải quyết

Resolve/ solve a problem, resolve/ end a conflict

Rest on

Be based on

Dựa trên

The theory rests on/ is based on the asumption that…

Return

Come back, go back, get back

Quay trở lại

Return/ come back home

Revise

Look back over, go over

Xem lại, duyệt lại

Revise/ look back over the task

Sanction (v)

Permit

Chấp nhận, tán thành

The government cannot sanction law breaking.

Secure (v)

Obtain, get , gain (informal)

Đạt được, có được

Secure/ get/ gain one’s ends

Sole(ly)

Only

Duy nhất

The sole/ only representative for …

Somewhat

Slightly, a little, a bit (informal)

Phần nào, một chút

It is somewhat/ a little dificult.

Speak of

Talk of, talk about (less formal)

Nói về

We will speak of/ talk about that point later

Spouse

Husband, wife

Vợ hoặc chồng

The President’s spouse/ husband/ wife attended the ceremony.

Substantial

Large, big

Đáng kể

A substantial number/ amount

Treat

Deal with

Xem xét/ xử lý

This issue was not treated/ dealt with fully in his earlier work.

Undergraduate

Undergrad (informal)

Sinh viên chưa tốt nghiệp

The undergrads/undergraduates mostly live in halls of residence.

Undertaking (n)

Promise

Sự cam kết, đảm nhận

An official undertaking/ promise to do something

Utilize

Use something effectively

Tận dụng

Utilize a resource/ method

Virtually

Almost, more or less

Hầu như

It is virtually/ almost impossible to …

Write of

Write about

Viết về..

It is not possible / not correct that…

There’s no way that … (less formal)

Không thể nào mà …

It is not possible/ there’s absolutely no way that one can retrieve his fortunes in such a short time.   

Your faithfully

Yours sincerely, best wishes (less formal), best (informal)

Chân thành

(Way of ending a letter or email)