Definition

1. Verb phrase:

   • To leave uncultivated; to abandon (land): The primary meaning refers to the act of leaving agricultural land or property unused, untended, and not cultivated for a significant period.
   • To leave fallow; to let lie waste: Describes the state of land that is deliberately or neglectfully left without crops or productive use.

2. Adjectival phrase (derived):

   • Uncultivated; abandoned; waste: Used to describe land or property that is in a state of neglect and disuse.

Usage Examples

• Verb phrase:

  • Nông dân buộc phải bỏ hoang cánh đồng vì hạn hán. (The farmers were forced to leave the field uncultivated due to drought.)
  • Họ đã bỏ hoang mảnh đất đó sau khi cha mẹ họ qua đời. (They abandoned that plot of land after their parents passed away.)

• Adjectival phrase:

  • Đất bỏ hoang có thể được cải tạo lại. (Uncultivated land can be reclaimed.)
  • Khu nhà máy cũ bị bỏ hoang trông rất đáng sợ. (The old, abandoned factory looks very eerie.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase often carries a connotation of neglect, loss of productivity, or socio-economic change leading to disuse.
• It can be used metaphorically in some contexts to describe neglecting a skill, project, or relationship, though this is less common.
  • Anh ấy đã bỏ hoang tài năng âm nhạc của mình. (He let his musical talent go to waste.)

Variants and Related Words

• Hoang hóa (v): to become barren or lie waste; the process of land becoming uncultivated.

  • Đất đai dần bị hoang hóa. (The land gradually became barren.)

• Đất hoang (n): wasteland, uncultivated land.

  • Họ mua một miếng đất hoang để phát triển. (They bought a piece of wasteland to develop.)

Synonyms

• Abandon (land): to leave permanently or for a long time.
• Leave fallow: to leave land unseeded after plowing.
• Neglect: to fail to care for or use.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Bỏ hoang cửa nhà: to abandon one's home. This emphasizes leaving a dwelling place empty and unattended.
  • Chiến tranh khiến nhiều người phải bỏ hoang cửa nhà. (The war forced many people to abandon their homes.)

1. Leave (land) uncultivated
   • Đất bỏ hoang
     Uncultivated land, waste land