Definition

1. Noun:
   • A landing place or wharf: A designated place along a riverbank, canal, or shoreline where boats and ships dock to load and unload passengers or cargo.
   • A station or terminal: A designated place where public transport vehicles, such as buses or ferries, stop to pick up and drop off passengers.
   • A figurative place of arrival or rest: Used metaphorically to describe a destination, a final stop, or a place of refuge and stability.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Con thuyền đậu ở bến. (The boat is moored at the wharf.)
  • Xin vui lòng chờ tôi ở bến xe. (Please wait for me at the bus station.)
  • Sau bao năm phiêu bạt, anh ấy đã tìm thấy một bến đỗ bình yên. (After many years of wandering, he has found a peaceful haven.)

Advanced Usage

• "bến nước": A riverside landing place, often associated with a village or a nostalgic, poetic image of rural life.

  • Hình ảnh bến nước, cây đa là hình ảnh quen thuộc của làng quê. (The image of the riverside landing and the banyan tree is a familiar one of the countryside.)

• "bến đỗ": Literally a parking/berthing place; figuratively a final destination, a secure job, or a life partner.

  • Công ty lớn là bến đỗ mơ ước của nhiều sinh viên. (A large company is the dream destination for many students.)

Variants and Related Words

• Bến phà (n): Ferry terminal.

  • Chúng tôi tập trung tại bến phà trước 7 giờ. (We gathered at the ferry terminal before 7 a.m.)

• Bến tàu (n): Pier, ship wharf.

  • Bến tàu này rất nhộn nhịp. (This pier is very bustling.)

• Bến xe (n): Bus station, coach station.

  • Bến xe miền Đông là bến xe lớn nhất. (The Eastern Bus Station is the largest station.)

Synonyms

• Wharf / Pier / Quay: A structure on the shore for mooring vessels.
• Terminal / Station / Depot: A starting or ending point for a transportation route.
• Haven / Port: A place of safety or refuge (figurative).

Related Idioms

• Bến cũ, thuyền xưa: Literally "the old wharf, the old boat"; refers to a past love or a former, familiar place one returns to.

  • Anh ấy vẫn nhớ về bến cũ, thuyền xưa. (He still remembers his old love / the past.)

• Có thực mới vực được đạo, có bến mới đỗ được thuyền: Literally "One must have food to uphold morality, one must have a wharf to moor a boat"; meaning one must have a material foundation or a secure base to achieve higher goals.

noun

1. River watering place
2. Landing stage, wharf, station
   • bến phà
     a ferry for barges
   • tàu thủy cập bến
     the ship berths at wharf
   • bến xe buýt
     a bus station