Definition

1. Noun:

   • North: One of the four cardinal directions, opposite to south. It is the direction to the left of a person facing the rising sun.
   • The North (region): Refers specifically to the northern region of Vietnam.

2. Verb:

   • To place, to put, to set up: To move an object to a higher position or to install it.
   • To put on (a stove/fire): To place a cooking pot or pan onto a heat source.
   • To span, to bridge: To lay or construct something across a gap or between two points.
   • To aim, to train (a weapon/device): To point or direct something, like a firearm or optical instrument, at a target.
   • To sow (rice seedlings): A specific agricultural term for sowing rice seeds or transplanting rice seedlings.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • Gió mùa đông bắc rất lạnh. (The northeast monsoon is very cold.)
  • Ông ấy sinh ra và lớn lên ở miền Bắc. (He was born and raised in the North.)

• Verb:

  • Họ bắc một cây cầu tạm qua con suối. (They built a temporary bridge across the stream.)
  • Bà bắc ấm nước lên bếp để đun. (She put the kettle on the stove to boil.)
  • Người lính bắc súng nhắm vào mục tiêu. (The soldier aimed his gun at the target.)
  • Nông dân đang bắc mạ trên cánh đồng. (The farmers are sowing rice seedlings in the field.)

Advanced Usage

• "bắc cầu": Literally "to bridge," often used metaphorically to mean to act as an intermediary or to connect two parties.

  • Anh ấy bắc cầu cho hai công ty hợp tác. (He bridged the connection for the two companies to collaborate.)

• "bắc âm": A term in traditional Vietnamese music referring to a northern-style musical mode or tune.

Variants and Related Words

• Bắc bộ (n): Northern region (of Vietnam).
• Bắc cực (n): The North Pole.
• Hướng bắc (n): Northern direction.
• Bắc cạn (v, idiom): To be completely out of something, especially money or resources (literally, to have the pot lifted off the stove, meaning empty).

Synonyms

• North: northern, septentrional (formal).
• To place: to set, to position, to install.
• To span: to bridge, to cross over.
• To aim: to point, to direct, to train.

Related Idioms

• "Bắc thang lên hỏi ông Trời": Literally "to set up a ladder to ask the God in heaven." It means to be in a desperate situation with no one else to turn to for justice or a solution.

  • Việc oan ức ấy, biết bắc thang lên hỏi ông Trời sao? (For that injustice, who can we possibly appeal to?)

• "Nam tiến, Bắc cự": A historical phrase meaning "Advance Southward, Resist the North," referring to historical expansion and defense.

noun

1. North
   • đi về hướng bắc
     to go north
   • nhà xây hướng bắc
     the house faces north

verb

1. To lay, to stand, to set
   • bắc đường xe lửa xuyên qua tỉnh
     to lay a railway track across the province
   • bắc ghế treo bức tranh
     to stand a chair and hang a picture
   • bắc khẩu súng để bắn
     to set a gun into position
   • bắc nồi lên bếp
     to put a pot on the fire
2. To span