Definition

1. Verb phrase:

   • To go home / to return home: The most common meaning of "đi về" is to go back to one's home or place of origin.
   • To go back / to return: It can also refer to the general action of returning to a starting point or a familiar place.

2. Verb phrase (extended usage):

   • To come and go / to travel back and forth: In some contexts, it can describe the action of going to a place and then returning from it, indicating a round trip or regular commute.

Usage Examples

• Verb phrase:
  • Trời tối rồi, chúng ta nên đi về. (It's dark now, we should go home.)
  • Sau chuyến công tác, anh ấy đi về Hà Nội. (After the business trip, he returned to Hanoi.)
  • Xe buýt này đi về trung tâm thành phố. (This bus goes back to the city center.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase can imply the completion of an activity or outing and the subsequent return.
  • Cuộc họp kết thúc, mọi người lần lượt đi về. (The meeting ended, and everyone gradually went home.)

Variants and Related Words

• Về (v): to return, to go back. This is the core verb in the phrase.

  • Chúng tôi về nhà lúc 9 giờ tối. (We returned home at 9 p.m.)

• Trở về (v): to come back, to return (often with a slightly more formal or literary tone).

  • Người lính trở về sau chiến tranh. (The soldier returned after the war.)

Synonyms

• Return home: to go back to one's house.
• Go back: to return to a previous location.
• Head back: to start a journey back.

Related Idioms

• Đi về đâu?: Where are you going? / Where are you headed? (A common greeting inquiring about someone's destination).

  • Trời mưa to thế này, cậu định đi về đâu? (It's raining so heavily, where are you planning to go?)

• Đi không bằng về: Literally "going is not equal to returning"; meaning there's no place like home.

  • Đi khắp nơi mới thấy đi không bằng về. (Traveling everywhere makes you realize there's no place like home.)