Definitions

1. Adjective:

   • Stubborn, obstinate: Describes a person, especially a child, who is headstrong, disobedient, or difficult to manage.
   • Unripe, half-ripe: Describes fruit that is not yet fully mature or ripe, often hard and sour.

2. Verb:

   • To temporarily plant seedlings: In agriculture, to plant seeds or young plants in a temporary location (like a seedbed) for a period before transplanting them to their final location.
   • To temporarily stock fry: In aquaculture, to place young fish (fry) in a pond for a period before releasing them into larger lakes or ponds.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • Đứa trẻ này rất ương, không chịu nghe lời ai. (This child is very stubborn and doesn't listen to anyone.)
  • Những trái xoài này còn ương, chưa ăn được. (These mangoes are still unripe and cannot be eaten yet.)

• Verb:

  • Người nông dân ương mạ trước khi cấy. (The farmer temporarily plants the rice seedlings before transplanting them.)
  • Họ ương cá bột trong ao nhỏ trước khi thả ra hồ. (They temporarily stock the fry in a small pond before releasing them into the lake.)

Advanced Usage

• "ương ương" (reduplication): Slightly stubborn, somewhat headstrong. This form softens the meaning.
  • Nó chỉ hơi ương ương một chút thôi. (He's just a little bit stubborn.)

Variants and Related Words

• Ương bướng (adj): Stubborn and defiant. This is a compound word combining "ương" and "bướng" (stubborn).
• Ương ngạnh (adj): Obstinate and recalcitrant. This is a compound word combining "ương" and "ngạnh" (obstinate).

Synonyms

• Bướng bỉnh (adj): Disobedient, wayward.
• Cứng đầu (adj): Hard-headed, stubborn.
• Xanh (adj - for fruit): Green, unripe.

Related Idioms

• Cứng như trâu (as stubborn as a buffalo): An idiom describing extreme stubbornness, similar in spirit to the character trait meaning of "ương".
• Chưa chín tới (not yet ripe): An idiom meaning not yet ready or mature, related to the "unripe" meaning of "ương".