bống

Thân thiện

Mẹ mua một rổ cá bống về kho tiêu.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • Goby: A type of small, bottom-dwelling fish commonly found in freshwater and brackish environments in Vietnam. It is often referenced in the compound term "cá bống" (goby fish).
   • Figurative term for a small or insignificant person: Used in folk sayings to represent a small, seemingly weak individual.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Trong ao có nhiều bống. (There are many gobies in the pond.)
  • Câu tục ngữ "bống có gan bống" rất nổi tiếng. (The proverb "the little goby has its own courage" is very famous.)

Advanced Usage

• The word is almost exclusively used in the compound "cá bống". Using "bống" alone is poetic or proverbial.
• "bống có gan bống": A proverb meaning "the little goby has its own courage" or "even the small have their bravery," analogous to "small but mighty."

Variants and Related Words

• Cá bống (n): The standard term for goby fish.
  • Món cá bống kho tiêu rất ngon. (Braised goby with pepper is very delicious.)

Synonyms

• Goby: The direct English translation for the fish.
• Minnow (figurative): Can be used to convey the idea of a small, insignificant person or thing in a similar figurative sense.

Related Idioms

• Bống có gan bống: As above, an idiom praising the courage or spirit of someone small or seemingly powerless.
  • Đừng coi thường nó, bống có gan bống mà. (Don't look down on him; even the small have their courage.)

Học thuật

1. xem cá bống