Thỏ lạnh

Trên bầu trời đêm, trẻ em chỉ tay lên mặt trăng và tưởng tượng ra con thỏ lạnh.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • The Cold Rabbit: A poetic and literary Vietnamese term for the moon, derived from folklore. It refers to the legend of a jade rabbit (Thỏ Ngọc) residing on the moon, often depicted pounding the elixir of immortality.
   • This term evokes imagery, tradition, and a sense of celestial mystery, contrasting the moon's cold, distant nature with the familiar, gentle animal.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Trên bầu trời đêm, thỏ lạnh tỏa ánh sáng dịu hiền. (In the night sky, the Cold Rabbit casts a gentle light.)
  • Truyền thuyết kể về chú thỏ lạnh trên cung trăng. (Legends tell of the Cold Rabbit in the lunar palace.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is primarily used in literary, poetic, or artistic contexts to create a romantic, classical, or folkloric atmosphere. It is not a common term in everyday modern speech.

Variants and Related Words

• Thỏ Ngọc (n): Jade Rabbit. The specific name of the mythical rabbit on the moon.

  • Thỏ Ngọc thường được miêu tả đang giã thuốc. (The Jade Rabbit is often described as pounding medicine.)

• Cung trăng (n): Lunar palace. A poetic term for the moon as a dwelling.

  • Thỏ lạnh sống trong cung trăng. (The Cold Rabbit lives in the lunar palace.)

Synonyms

• The moon: The natural satellite of Earth.
• Celestial hare: A similar term found in other East Asian mythologies.

Related Idioms and Cultural References

• "Chuyện thỏ lạnh": Can refer to moon-related lore or something fanciful and mythical.
• The concept originates from Buddhist Jātaka tales and is prevalent in Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean folklore, where the moon's shadows are interpreted as the shape of a rabbit.