Definition

1. Noun:

   • Ox, cow: A large domesticated animal with horns and cloven hooves, often raised for milk, meat, or as a draft animal.
   • Beef: The meat from this animal used as food.

2. Verb:

   • To creep, to crawl: To move slowly with the body close to the ground or on hands and knees.
   • To move very slowly: To progress at a very slow, sluggish pace.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • Con bò này cho rất nhiều sữa. (This cow gives a lot of milk.)
  • Tôi thích ăn phở bò. (I like to eat beef pho.)

• Verb:

  • Con rắn đang bò qua đường. (The snake is crawling across the road.)
  • Đứa bé mới biết bò. (The baby has just learned to crawl.)
  • Chiếc xe tải bò lên đèo. (The truck crawled up the mountain pass.)

Advanced Usage

• "bò lê bò càng": To drag oneself along pitifully (often due to pain or exhaustion).

  • Sau trận ốm, ông ấy chỉ còn biết bò lê bò càng. (After his illness, he could only drag himself around pitifully.)

• "bò ra bò vào": To crawl in and out; to be very busy moving around (often in a confined space).

  • Lũ trẻ bò ra bò vào dưới gầm bàn. (The children were crawling in and out from under the table.)

Variants and Related Words

• Bò sữa (n): Dairy cow, milch cow.

  • Trang trại này nuôi một đàn bò sữa. (This farm raises a herd of dairy cows.)

• Bò cạp (n): Scorpion (compound word; "cạp" is an old form of "cắn" - to sting/bite).

  • Hãy cẩn thận, có bò cạp trong hang đá. (Be careful, there's a scorpion in the cave.)

• Con bò (n): The cow/ox (using the general classifier "con" for animals).

Synonyms

• Trườn (v): To slither, to crawl (like a snake).
• Bò trườn (v): To crawl and slither (emphasizing slow, ground-level movement).
• Lết (v): To drag oneself, to shuffle along (often with more difficulty than "bò").

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Bò lên: To crawl up, to climb slowly.

  • Cậu bé bò lên cầu thang. (The little boy crawled up the stairs.)

• Bò vào: To crawl into.

  • Con mèo bò vào trong hộp. (The cat crawled into the box.)

Related Idioms

• Ngu như bò / Dốt như bò: (As) stupid as a cow/ox; very ignorant or dull.

  • Đừng có hỏi nó, nó ngu như bò về chuyện này. (Don't ask him, he's as dumb as an ox about this.)

• Tức như bò đá: Very angry, furious (literally: as angry as a stone ox).

  • Nghe tin đó, anh ta tức như bò đá. (Hearing that news, he was furious.)

• Chưa tập bò đã lo tập chạy: To try to run before you can crawl; to aim for advanced skills without mastering the basics.

  • Con phải học từ từ, đừng chưa tập bò đã lo tập chạy. (You must learn step by step, don't try to run before you can crawl.)

noun

1. Ox, cow; beef
   • bò sữa đàn bò sữa
     a herd of milch cows
   • ngu như bò
     dull as a cow
   • bún bò
     a dish of vermicelli and beef
   • ngói bò
     a ridge-tile

verb

1. To creep, to crawl
   • rắn trong lỗ bò ra
     a snake crawled out of its hole
   • em bé bảy tháng đã biết bò
     the baby can crawl at 7 months of age