Definition

Verb: - To leave one's homeland or native region, often due to difficult circumstances: This verb describes the act of abandoning or departing from one's place of origin, typically one's country or ancestral land. It implies a permanent or long-term departure, often driven by hardship, conflict, or the search for a better life. It carries a connotation of sadness and finality.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Nhiều người đã phải bỏ xứ ra đi vì chiến tranh. (Many people had to leave their homeland because of war.)
  • Ông ấy buồn bã bỏ xứ mà đi, không một lời từ biệt. (He sadly left his native land without a word of goodbye.)
  • Nạn đói buộc họ phải bỏ xứ để mưu sinh. (The famine forced them to abandon their country to seek a livelihood.)

Advanced Usage

• "bỏ xứ ra đi" / "bỏ xứ mà đi": These are common collocations emphasizing the act of departing. The added words "ra đi" (to depart) or "mà đi" (and go) reinforce the sense of leaving.
  • Họ đành lòng bỏ xứ ra đi tìm vùng đất mới. (They reluctantly left their homeland to search for a new land.)

Variants and Related Words

• Bỏ nước ra đi / Bỏ nước mà đi (verb phrase): A near-synonymous phrase meaning "to leave one's country." It is slightly more formal and explicitly refers to the nation ("nước").
• Ly hương (verb): A literary and formal term meaning "to leave one's native village/land." It is often used in poetic contexts.
• Tha hương (verb/adjective): Means "to live in exile" or "to be a stranger in a foreign land," focusing on the state of being away from home.

Synonyms

• Di cư (verb): To migrate. This is a more neutral, general term for moving from one place to another, not necessarily implying tragedy.
• Lánh nạn (verb): To flee from disaster/strife. This emphasizes leaving to escape danger.
• Rời bỏ quê hương (verb phrase): To leave one's homeland. A more descriptive and less idiomatic synonym.

Related Phrases

• Bỏ xứ lưu vong: To go into exile, to leave one's country as an exile.
  • Sau cuộc đảo chính, gia đình ông phải bỏ xứ lưu vong. (After the coup, his family had to flee the country into exile.)

Related Idioms

• Bỏ của chạy lấy người: (Lit., "Abandon possessions to save oneself.") This idiom prioritizes life over material things. While not identical, it shares the theme of abandoning something precious (like one's home in "bỏ xứ") due to dire circumstances.
  • Trong cơn hỏa hoạn, chỉ còn cách bỏ của chạy lấy người. (During the fire, the only way was to abandon everything and run for your life.)

verb

1. to fly one's country