Definition

1. Noun:
   • The four seas: A classical Vietnamese term referring to the four cardinal directions or the four seas that were traditionally believed to surround the land, symbolizing the entire world or the whole of humanity.
   • The whole world, all corners of the earth: Used metaphorically to mean everywhere, the entire globe, or all people under heaven.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Anh ấy đã đi khắp bốn bể. (He has traveled to all four corners of the earth.)
  • Tình người ở bốn bể đều giống nhau. (Human kindness is the same all over the world.)

Advanced Usage

• "bốn bể một nhà": Literally "the four seas are one home". This is a set phrase expressing the ideal that the whole world is one family, promoting universal brotherhood and unity.
  • Theo tinh thần "bốn bể một nhà", chúng ta nên giúp đỡ lẫn nhau. (In the spirit of "the whole world is one family", we should help each other.)
• "năm châu bốn bể": Literally "five continents, four seas". A common paired phrase meaning the entire world, all continents and oceans.
  • Ước mơ của cô ấy là được đi khắp năm châu bốn bể. (Her dream is to travel across all five continents and four seas.)

Variants and Related Words

• Bể (n): Sea, ocean. This is the singular form. "Bốn bể" is the plural concept.
• Năm châu (n): The five continents. Often paired with "bốn bể".

Synonyms

• Thế giới: The world.
• Khắp nơi: Everywhere.
• Thiên hạ: All under heaven; the world and its people.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Bốn bể là nhà: Literally "the four seas are home". Describes someone who travels everywhere or feels at home anywhere in the world.
  • Là một thủy thủ, ông ấy sống với tinh thần "bốn bể là nhà". (As a sailor, he lives with the spirit of "the four seas are home".)
• Bốn bể anh em: Literally "brothers from the four seas". Refers to comrades or friends from all over.
  • Trại hè quốc tế quy tụ những người bạn "bốn bể anh em". (The international summer camp gathers friends who are "brothers from the four seas".)