Definition

1. Noun:
   • Ferry; ferry-boat: A small boat used to transport passengers and sometimes goods across a river or other body of water.
   • Small passenger boat: A general term for a small boat, often rowed, used for passenger transport on rivers.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Chúng tôi đi đò qua sông. (We take the ferry across the river.)
  • Người lái đò đang chờ khách. (The ferryman is waiting for passengers.)
  • Chiếc đò nhỏ cập bến. (The small ferry-boat docks at the pier.)

Advanced Usage

• "Qua đò": To cross by ferry.
  • Muốn sang sông phải qua đò. (To cross the river, one must take the ferry.)
• "Bến đò": Ferry landing; ferry dock.
  • Anh ấy đang đợi ở bến đò. (He is waiting at the ferry dock.)

Variants and Related Words

• Lái đò (n): Ferryman; the person who operates the ferry.
  • Ông lão lái đò rất thân thiện. (The old ferryman is very friendly.)
• Đò ngang (n): Ferry that crosses a river (specifically a crossing ferry).
  • Đò ngang là phương tiện chính ở đây. (The crossing ferry is the main means of transport here.)
• Đò dọc (n): Ferry that travels along the river (less common).
• Chèo đò (v): To row a ferry; to operate a ferry by rowing.

Synonyms

• Phà (n): Ferry (often larger, sometimes carrying vehicles).
• Thuyền (n): Boat (a more general term).

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Chở đò (v): To ferry; to transport by ferry.
  • Anh ấy chở đò khách qua sông mỗi ngày. (He ferries passengers across the river every day.)

Related Idioms

• "Nước đổ lá khoai" / "Nước trôi hoa rụng" (often associated with the transient image of a ferry): These idioms evoke imagery of flowing water and passing time, sometimes metaphorically linked to the fleeting nature of life or a ferry crossing.
  • Cuộc đời như nước đổ lá khoai. (Life is as transient as water flowing past a taro leaf.)
• "Một người làm quan, cả họ được nhờ" (This idiom is sometimes contrasted with the difficult life of a lái đò): This proverb highlights privilege, often implicitly contrasting with the hard, independent work of a ferryman.
  • Đời lái đò vất vả, chẳng như câu "một người làm quan, cả họ được nhờ". (The life of a ferryman is hard, unlike the saying "when one person becomes an official, the whole family benefits".)

noun

1. ferry; ferry-boat
   • lái đò
     ferryman