Definition

1. Noun:
   • Water hyacinth: "bèo Tây" refers to a free-floating aquatic plant with thick, glossy leaves and showy lavender flowers, known scientifically as Eichhornia crassipes.
   • Common name: It is the common Vietnamese name for this plant, which is also known as "bèo Nhật Bản" (Japanese water hyacinth) or "lục bình".

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Mặt hồ phủ đầy bèo Tây. (The lake surface is covered with water hyacinth.)
  • Bèo Tây sinh sản rất nhanh. (Water hyacinth reproduces very quickly.)
  • Người ta dùng bèo Tây để làm thức ăn cho gia súc. (People use water hyacinth to make feed for livestock.)

Advanced Usage

• "trôi nổi như bèo Tây": to drift aimlessly like water hyacinth (an idiom describing a rootless, unstable life).
  • Sau chiến tranh, cuộc sống của nhiều người trôi nổi như bèo Tây. (After the war, the lives of many people drifted aimlessly like water hyacinth.)

Variants and Related Words

• Bèo Nhật Bản (n): Japanese water hyacinth. A synonym for "bèo Tây".
• Lục bình (n): Another common Vietnamese name for the same plant.
• Bèo cái (n): A different, larger type of water fern (genus ).
• Bèo tấm (n): Duckweed (a much smaller floating plant).

Synonyms

• Water hyacinth: The direct English translation.
• Eichhornia crassipes: The scientific name.

Related Phrases

• Cánh bèo (n): Literally "water hyacinth petal"; sometimes used poetically to describe something delicate or floating.
• Bèo dạt mây trôi (idiom): An idiom meaning "to drift like water hyacinth and clouds", describing a fate of wandering and uncertainty.

1. như bèo Nhật Bản