Definition

1. Noun:
   • Field dam, bund, levee: A low embankment or ridge of earth built around a field, especially a rice paddy, to retain irrigation water and demarcate plots of land.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Nông dân đang sửa lại bờ thửa trước mùa mưa. (The farmers are repairing the field dams before the rainy season.)
  • Con trâu đứng nghỉ trên bờ thửa. (The buffalo is resting on the bund.)
  • Nước được giữ lại trong ruộng nhờ những bờ thửa kiên cố. (Water is retained in the field thanks to the sturdy levees.)

Advanced Usage

• "Đắp bờ thửa": To build or construct a field bund.

  • Công việc đầu tiên là phải đắp bờ thửa cho thửa ruộng mới. (The first task is to build bunds for the new field.)

• "Bờ thửa kiên cố": A solid, well-built field levee.

  • Những bờ thửa kiên cố giúp chống xói mòn đất. (Solid field levees help prevent soil erosion.)

Variants and Related Words

• Bờ ruộng (n): Field ridge; a more general term for the raised edge of a field. It is often used interchangeably with "bờ thửa" but can refer to the edges of any cultivated plot, not just for water retention.
• Đê (n): Dyke, embankment. A larger, more massive structure, typically built along rivers or coasts for flood control, as opposed to the smaller "bờ thửa" around individual fields.
• Bờ vùng (n): A larger perimeter embankment surrounding a group of fields or a whole irrigation block.

Synonyms

• Field ridge: A raised strip of land separating fields.
• Dike/Dyke: (In agricultural context) A barrier to control water. Note: "Bờ thửa" is typically smaller than a major "dike" ("đê").

Related Phrases

• Canh tác trên thửa ruộng nhỏ bờ thửa quanh co: To cultivate on small plots with winding field bunds.
  • Phong cảnh đồng quê với những thửa ruộng nhỏ bờ thửa quanh co thật yên bình. (The rural landscape with small plots and winding bunds is very peaceful.)

Related Idioms

• "Chân ướt chân ráo" (literally: one foot wet, one foot dry): This idiom evokes the image of standing with one foot in the wet paddy and the other on the dry "bờ thửa," symbolizing being new to a place or situation, not yet settled.
  • Anh ấy mới đến, còn chân ướt chân ráo, chưa hiểu hết mọi việc. (He just arrived, still finding his feet, and doesn't understand everything yet.)

1. Field dam