Definitions

1. Noun:

   • Small crock, small bowl: A small container, typically made of ceramic or metal, used for holding liquids or food. Often refers to a small basin or bowl.
   • Dockyard, shipyard: A place where ships are built, repaired, or maintained. Often used in the compound "âu tàu".
   • A type of water bird: (Archaic, literary) Refers to a type of seabird or river bird.

2. Adverb:

   • Perhaps, maybe, probably: Used to express uncertainty, probability, or a tentative assumption.
   • Just, simply: Used to indicate a simple, straightforward action or reason.

3. Verb:

   • (Archaic, literary) To worry, to be anxious: To feel troubled or concerned about something.
   • (Archaic, literary) To love, to cherish: To have deep affection for someone.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Small crock):
  • Bà đựng nước mắm trong cái âu sứ nhỏ. (She kept fish sauce in a small porcelain crock.)
• Noun (Dockyard):
  • Con tàu đang được sửa chữa trong âu. (The ship is being repaired in the dockyard.)
• Adverb (Perhaps):
  • Âu cũng là số phận. (Perhaps it is fate.)
  • Âu là hỏi lại cho rõ. (Just ask again to make sure.)
• Verb (To worry):
  • Việc nhà cứ âu trong lòng. (Household matters keep worrying him/her.)
• Verb (To love - Archaic):
  • Càng âu duyên mới càng dào tình xưa. (The more (he) loves the new bond, the more intense the old love becomes.)

Advanced Usage

• "Âu cũng là...": A common structure meaning "Perhaps it is also..." or "It might as well be...", used to express reluctant acceptance or philosophical resignation.
  • Âu cũng là một bài học. (Perhaps it is also a lesson.)
• "Âu đành...": Expresses reluctant acceptance or resignation to a situation.
  • Âu đành chấp nhận vậy. (I suppose I'll just have to accept it.)
• "Âu sầu": (Compound word) Means sorrow, melancholy. This is a separate lexical item.
  • Nét mặt đầy âu sầu. (A face full of sorrow.)

Variants and Related Words

• Âu tàu: (Compound noun) Dock, dockyard.
• Âu châu / Châu Âu: (Proper noun) Europe.
• Âu sành: (Noun) Earthenware crock.
• Âu yếm: (Verb, compound) To caress, to fondle. This is a separate lexical item.
• Âu lo: (Verb, compound) To worry, to be anxious. This is a separate lexical item.
• Âu sầu: (Adjective/Noun, compound) Sorrowful, melancholy. This is a separate lexical item.

Synonyms

• Adverb (Perhaps): Có lẽ, hẳn là, dễ thường.
• Verb (To worry): Lo, lo lắng, phiền muộn.
• Noun (Bowl): Chén, bát, tô (though these are typically for eating; "âu" often implies a wider, shallower container).

Related Idioms and Phrases

• "Ở đâu âu đấy": (Idiom) Literally "Wherever you are, you worry there." Means every place has its own troubles or responsibilities; you worry about the matters of the place you are in.
• "Âu vàng": (Literary/Archaic) Refers to a golden cup or goblet, often used in classical poetry.

noun

1. Small crock
2. Dockyard; shipyard

adv

1. Perhaps, just
   • âu cũng là dịp hiếm có
     Perhaps it was a rare opportunity
   • âu là hỏi lại cho rõ
     just ask again to make sure