bồ
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- Sweetheart, lover: A colloquial term for a romantic partner, boyfriend, or girlfriend.
- Bamboo basket: A container woven from bamboo or rattan, typically with high sides and a round, wide mouth, used for storing items like rice.
Usage Examples
- Noun (Sweetheart, lover):
- Anh ấy là bồ của tôi. (He is my boyfriend.)
- Hai đứa nó là bồ của nhau. (Those two are each other's lovers.)
- Noun (Bamboo basket):
- Đổ thóc vào bồ. (To put paddy into a basket.)
- Một bồ thóc giống. (A basket of seed rice.)
Advanced Usage
- "bồ sứt cạp": Literally "a basket with a broken rim." Used to describe a very fat person.
- Ông ta mập như bồ sứt cạp. (He is as fat as a basket with a broken rim.)
- "miệng nam mô, bụng bồ dao găm": A proverb meaning "a honey tongue, a heart of gall." Describes someone who speaks kindly but harbors malicious intent.
- Đừng tin hắn, miệng nam mô bụng bồ dao găm đấy. (Don't trust him; his words are honey but his heart is gall.)
Variants and Related Words
- Bồ liễu (archaic/literary): A fragile young woman. "Bồ" is a shortened form.
- Phận bồ liễu. (The lot of a fragile woman.)
- Bồ (humorous, slang): Pig. Used in certain humorous or regional contexts.
- Phận con bồ. (The lot of a pig.)
Synonyms
- Người yêu: Lover, sweetheart.
- Tình nhân: Lover (can imply a more secretive or illicit relationship).
- Cái cót: A large cylindrical basket for storing grain (regional synonym for the basket meaning).
Notes on Usage
- When meaning "sweetheart," bồ is very common in Southern Vietnamese and in casual speech nationwide. It is informal and may be considered slightly slangy.
- When meaning "basket," it is a standard noun.
- The proverb "miệng nam mô, bụng bồ dao găm" is a fixed, well-known expression.
noun
- Sweetheart, lover
- Bamboo basket
- đổ thóc vào bồto put paddy in baskets
- một bồ thóc giốnga basket of seeds
- bồ sứt cạpa basket deprived of its rim; a very fat person
- miệng nam mô, bụng bồ dao găma honey tongue, a heart of gall