Definition

1. Noun:

   • Waiter, houseboy, manservant: A male servant, especially in a colonial or historical context, who performs duties such as serving in hotels or private homes for colonial masters.
   • Attendant: A person, typically male, employed to serve.

2. Verb:

   • To strengthen, to reinforce: To make something stronger or more durable by adding layers of material, such as paper or earth, to its back or base.
   • To silt up, to alluviate: (Of sediment, mud, or silt in river or lake water) To raise the level of land or extend its area by depositing material.
   • To add on, to give an extra blow: (Colloquial) To add an extra action, often a hit or strike, to make the result more severe.
   • To compensate, to indemnify: To pay money or provide something to make up for a loss, damage, or expense.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • Ông chủ thuê một người bồi. (The boss hired a houseboy.)
  • Bồi bàn mang nước đến. (The waiter brought the water.)

• Verb (to strengthen):

  • Họ bồi thêm giấy sau bức tranh. (They pasted more paper on the back of the picture to strengthen it.)
  • Công nhân đắp đất để bồi chân đê. (Workers added earth to strengthen the foot of the dyke.)

• Verb (to silt up):

  • Phù sa bồi lên thành một bãi bồi. (The alluvium silted up to form a shoal.)

• Verb (to add an extra blow):

  • Hắn đấm một cái rồi bồi thêm một cái nữa. (He punched once and then added another blow.)

• Verb (to compensate):

  • Công ty phải bồi thường cho người bị thiệt hại. (The company must compensate the person who suffered damages.)

Advanced Usage

• "bồi thường": to compensate, to indemnify. This is a fixed compound.

  • Luật pháp yêu cầu bồi thường thiệt hại. (The law requires compensation for damages.)

• "bồi đắp": to build up by depositing sediment; (figuratively) to cultivate, to nurture (e.g., feelings, knowledge).

  • Con sông bồi đắp phù sa cho cánh đồng. (The river deposits alluvium for the fields.)
  • Bồi đắp tình cảm. (To nurture feelings.)

Variants and Related Words

• Bồi bàn (n): waiter, waitress (in a restaurant).

  • Cô ấy làm nghề bồi bàn. (She works as a waitress.)

• Bồi phòng (n): hotel bellboy, room attendant.

  • Bồi phòng mang hành lý lên phòng. (The bellboy brought the luggage to the room.)

Synonyms

• Noun: Servant, attendant, waiter.
• Verb (strengthen): Reinforce, fortify, back.
• Verb (silt): Deposit, accrete.
• Verb (compensate): Reimburse, repay, indemnify.

Related Idioms

• Bên lở bên bồi: Literally "one side erodes, the other side silts up." This idiom describes the natural process of rivers and is often used metaphorically to signify the constant change, impermanence, or the balancing of loss and gain in life.

  • Đời người như dòng sông, bên lở bên bồi. (Human life is like a river, with loss on one side and gain on the other.)

• Đất bồi: Alluvial land, silted land.

  • Cánh đồng đất bồi rất màu mỡ. (The alluvial field is very fertile.)

noun

1. Waiter (khách sạn), man-servant (nhà riêng bọn thực dân), houseboy
   • bồi bàn
     a waiter
   • bồi phòng
     a hotel room boy

verb

1. To strengthen (by pasting on additional layers of the same material)
   • bồi bìa
     to strengthen a cover
   • bồi bức tranh
     to strengthen the back of a picture (with layers of paper pasted on it)
   • đắp đất bồi thêm chân đê
     to strengthen the foot of a dyke with earth
2. (nói về bùn cát trong nước sông hồ) To raise the level of, to extend the area of with one's deposit