Definition

1. Noun:
   • Soapberry tree: A type of tree (genus Sapindus), whose fruit is known as the soapberry.
   • Soapberry: The fruit of the soapberry tree, which is bitter and was historically used like soap.
   • A metaphor for bitterness or hidden sorrow: Used figuratively to represent a bitter experience or a sorrow that one must endure silently.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Quả bồ hòn có thể dùng để tẩy rửa. (Soapberries can be used for cleaning.)
  • Anh ấy đang ngậm bồ hòn, chịu đựng mọi chuyện một mình. (He is 'holding a soapberry in his mouth,' enduring everything alone.)
  • Câu tục ngữ "ngậm bồ hòn làm ngọt" khuyên người ta nên nhẫn nhịn. (The proverb "to hold a bitter soapberry and make it sweet" advises people to be patient.)

Advanced Usage

• "ngậm bồ hòn" / "ngậm quả bồ hòn": An idiom meaning to endure bitterness or hardship in silence, to grin and bear it.
  • Sau thất bại, ông ấy chỉ biết ngậm bồ hòn mà sống. (After the failure, he could only live by swallowing his bitterness.)
• "đắng như bồ hòn": As bitter as a soapberry; used to describe something extremely bitter or a very bitter experience.
  • Lời từ chối ấy đắng như bồ hòn. (That rejection was as bitter as a soapberry.)

Variants and Related Words

• Cây bồ hòn: Soapberry tree.
• Quả bồ hòn: Soapberry (fruit).
• Họ bồ hòn (Sapindaceae): The soapberry family of plants.

Synonyms

• Khổ đau: Suffering, pain.
• Đắng cay: Bitterness, hardship (used for experiences).
• Nhẫn nhịn: Endurance, forbearance (the act implied by the idiom).

Related Idioms

• "Ngậm bồ hòn làm ngọt": Literally "to hold a soapberry and make it sweet." Means to patiently endure a bitter situation, to put a brave face on hardships.
  • Cuộc sống khó khăn, bà ấy vẫn ngậm bồ hòn làm ngọt nuôi con. (Life was hard, but she still bore her hardships patiently to raise her children.)
• "Khi thương củ ấu cũng tròn, khi ghét bồ hòn cũng méo": A folk saying meaning "When you love someone, even a water chestnut seems round; when you hate someone, even a soapberry seems misshapen." Illustrates how love and hate bias perception.

noun

1. Soapberry (-tree)
   • ngậm bồ hòn làm ngọt
     to swallow a bitter pill
   • khi thương củ ấu cũng tròn, khi ghét bồ hòn cũng méo
     love rounds square things, hatred squares round things