Definition

1. Verb:
   • To cohabit: To live together in the same residence, typically referring to people sharing a home. This is the core and most common meaning.
   • To coexist: To exist or live together simultaneously in the same place, often used in broader social or ecological contexts.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Hai người bạn quyết định đồng cư để tiết kiệm chi phí. (The two friends decided to cohabit to save on expenses.)
  • Nhiều loài động vật hoang dã đồng cư trong khu rừng này. (Many species of wild animals coexist in this forest.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is formal and is often used in sociological, anthropological, or legal contexts rather than in everyday casual conversation about roommates.

Variants and Related Words

• Sống chung (v): A more common and colloquial phrase meaning "to live together."
  • Họ đã sống chung được hai năm. (They have lived together for two years.)

Synonyms

• Cohabit: To live together as or as if a married couple.
• Coexist: To live in peace with each other.
• Reside together: A more formal way to express sharing a dwelling.

Related Idioms

• : This is a classical Sino-Vietnamese idiom meaning "to share a bed but have different dreams," describing people who live together but have fundamentally different goals or thoughts. It is analogous to the English idiom "to be at cross purposes."
  • Công ty đó gặp khó khăn vì các lãnh đạo đồng cư dị mộng. (That company faces difficulties because its leaders are at cross purposes.)