Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Tender, immature, green: Describes something, typically a plant or fruit, that is very young, underdeveloped, and not yet ready.
   • Meltingly soft, pulpy, overripe: Describes something, especially fruit, that has become extremely soft, almost to the point of being mushy or disintegrating.

2. Adverb:

   • So much, to such a degree: Used to indicate an equivalent amount or degree, often correlating with "bao nhiêu" (how much) to mean "as much as".

3. Demonstrative pronoun:

   • That, then (referring to a past time): Used to refer to a specific point in time that has been mentioned or is understood from context.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • Cua bấy (A tender, immature crab / a shedder crab)
  • Quả chuối chín bấy (A meltingly ripe banana / a banana that is pulpy from overripeness)
  • Nát bấy (Crushed to a pulp)

• Adverb:

  • Bao nhiêu cay đắng, bấy niềm tin. (So much bitterness, so much faith.)

• Demonstrative pronoun:

  • Từ bấy đến nay (From that time until now / From then until now.)

Advanced Usage

• The adjective "bấy" is relatively rare in modern spoken Vietnamese and is mostly found in specific descriptive or literary contexts.
• In the structure "bao nhiêu... bấy nhiêu...", it functions as a correlative adverb meaning "as much as... so much...". This is a fixed literary pattern.

Variants and Related Words

• Bấy nhiêu (pronoun): That much, that many. An emphatic form of the demonstrative.
  • Anh ấy chỉ cần bấy nhiêu thôi. (He only needs that much.)

Synonyms

• Adjective: Non (tender), mềm nhũn (very soft), nát (mushy).
• Adverb: Chừng ấy, ngần ấy (that much).
• Pronoun: Lúc ấy, hồi đó (at that time, back then).

Related Idioms

• Bấy như tương: Pulpy like soybean paste. An idiom emphasizing a state of being completely soft or mushy.
  • Quả xoài chín đến nỗi bấy như tương. (The mango is so ripe it's pulpy like paste.)

adj

1. Tender, immature, green
   • cua bấy
     a shedder
2. Meltingly soft, pulpy
   • quả chuối chín bấy
     a meltingly ripe banana
   • nát bấy
     crushed to pulp
   • bấy như tương
     pulpy like soya paste

noun

1. So much
   • bao nhiêu cay đắng, bấy niềm tin
     so much bitterness, so much faith
2. Then
   • từ bấy đến nay