Definitions

1. Noun:
   • Cover (of a book, notebook): The thick paper or cardboard outer part that protects and encloses a book, notebook, or similar item.
   • Cardboard, board: Thick, stiff paper material, often in large sheets, used for making covers, boxes, or other items.
   • Slab, block (of a food item like tofu): A flat, rectangular piece of a pressed food substance, most commonly referring to tofu.
   • Edge, border, fringe (of an area): The outer boundary or perimeter of a defined space, such as a village, forest, or field.
   • Sapwood, outside board (of timber): The softer, outer layer of a log, often removed when processing wood into lumber.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Cuốn sách này có bìa rất đẹp. (This book has a very beautiful cover.)
  • Tôi cần mua một tấm bìa cứng để làm poster. (I need to buy a sheet of cardboard to make a poster.)
  • Mẹ mua năm bìa đậu phụ về rán. (Mom bought five slabs of tofu to fry.)
  • Nhà cô ấy ở ngay bìa làng. (Her house is right on the edge of the village.)
  • Những thanh gỗ bìa này chỉ dùng để đun bếp. (These pieces of sapwood are only good for firewood.)

Advanced Usage

• "ra bìa": To be revealed, to come to light (often used figuratively).
  • Sự thật cuối cùng cũng ra bìa. (The truth finally came to light.)
• "vào bìa": To be covered, to be bound (for a book).
  • Sách mới in xong đang chờ vào bìa. (The newly printed books are waiting to be bound.)

Variants and Related Words

• Bìa cứng (n): Hard cover.
  • Sách bìa cứng thường đắt hơn. (Hardcover books are usually more expensive.)
• Bìa mềm (n): Soft cover, paperback.
• Bọc bìa (v): To cover (a book), to put a cover on.
  • Học sinh phải bọc bìa sách giáo khoa. (Students must cover their textbooks.)
• Bìa lưng (n): Spine (of a book).
• Bìa sách (n): Book cover.

Synonyms

• Bọc ngoài: Outer wrapping/covering.
• Vỏ: Shell, casing (for some contexts, like a box).
• Mép: Edge, rim.
• Rìa: Edge, border.
• Tấm: Slab, sheet, board.

Related Phrases

• Đứng bìa: To appear on the cover (e.g., of a magazine); to be the cover model.
  • Người mẫu nổi tiếng đó đứng bìa cho tạp chí thời trang. (That famous model is on the cover of the fashion magazine.)
• Lật bìa: To turn the cover; to begin reading a book (literally); to start investigating something (figuratively).

Related Idioms

• "Trông mặt mà bắt hình dong, con lợn có bìa thì lòng có ngon?": A proverb meaning appearances can be deceiving, literally: "Judging by the face to guess the form, does a pig with a nice [layer of] fat mean its meat is tasty?" (Here, "bìa" refers to the layer of fat on a pig.)
• "Ruột để ngoài da, bìa để trong": An idiom describing a state of confusion or things being in complete disarray, literally: "The guts are on the outside, the cover is on the inside."

noun

1. Cover (of books)
2. Board
   • hộp làm bằng bìa
     a box made of board
3. Slab, outside board
   • tấm gỗ bìa
     a slab
4. Slab
   • bìa đậu
     a slab of soya curd
5. Edge
   • bìa làng
     a village's edge
   • bìa rừng
     a forest's edge