bốn bề
Definition
Noun phrase:
- All four sides / every direction: Refers to the four cardinal directions or the surrounding area on all sides.
- All around / on every side: Describes something that is encircling or present in every direction from a central point.
Adverbial phrase:
- From all sides / from every direction: Used to indicate that actions, forces, or influences are coming from multiple or all directions simultaneously.
Usage Examples
Noun phrase:
- Từ trên cao nhìn xuống, thành phố trải rộng bốn bề. (Looking down from above, the city spreads out in all directions.)
- Căn phòng có cửa sổ mở ra bốn bề. (The room has windows opening out on all four sides.)
Adverbial phrase:
- Tiếng hò reo vang lên bốn bề. (Cheers erupted from all sides.)
- Gió thổi bốn bề. (The wind blows from every direction.)
Advanced Usage
- Often used in literary or descriptive contexts to create a sense of immersion or being surrounded.
- Can imply a situation where one is confronted or enveloped by circumstances from every angle.
- Khó khăn ập đến bốn bề. (Difficulties closed in from all sides.)
Variants and Related Words
Bốn phương (n): The four directions; often used more abstractly to mean "everywhere" or "all lands."
- Danh tiếng vang khắp bốn phương. (His fame spread to all lands.)
Chung quanh / xung quanh (n, adv): Around, surrounding. These are more common in everyday speech than "bốn bề."
- Anh ấy nhìn xung quanh. (He looked around.)
Synonyms
- All sides: Every direction.
- Everywhere: In all places.
- On all hands: From all sides (idiomatic).
Related Idioms
- Bốn bề thế cô: To be isolated and surrounded; to be in a strategically weak position, vulnerable from all sides.
- Quân địch rơi vào thế bốn bề thế cô. (The enemy fell into an isolated position, surrounded on all sides.)