Definition

1. Noun:

   • Chela, claw, pincer: The first pair of limbs of certain crustaceans (like crabs, lobsters) or insects (like mantises), forming a large grasping or pinching organ.
   • Shaft, pole: One of the two long, projecting bars at the front of certain carts or tools, used for hitching animals, pushing, pulling, or as a handle.

2. Adverb:

   • All the more, even more: Used before a verb or adjective to indicate an increase in degree or intensity due to a specific cause or condition.
   • The more... the more...: Used in the correlative structure càng... càng... to show that two actions, states, or qualities increase or decrease in proportion to each other.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • Con cua dùng càng để kẹp thức ăn. (The crab uses its claw to grip food.)
  • Người nông dân nắm chặt càng xe bò. (The farmer gripped the ox-cart shaft tightly.)

• Adverb:

  • Trời mưa, đường càng trơn. (It's raining, so the road is even more slippery.)
  • Càng học, tôi càng hiểu. (The more I study, the more I understand.)

Advanced Usage

• "càng ngày càng" / "ngày càng": These phrases mean "increasingly," "more and more," indicating a progressive change over time.
  • Cô ấy ngày càng tự tin. (She is becoming increasingly confident.)
  • Tình hình càng ngày càng phức tạp. (The situation is getting more and more complicated.)

Variants and Related Words

• Càng cua (n): Specifically refers to a crab's claw.

  • Món càng cua hấp rất ngon. (Steamed crab claws are very delicious.)

• Tay càng (n): The long handle of a tool, such as on pliers or bolt cutters.

  • Anh ấy bẻ dây thép bằng kìm tay càng. (He cut the wire with long-handled pliers.)

Synonyms

• Noun: Claw, pincer, chela; shaft, drawbar, tongue.
• Adverb: Even more, all the more; increasingly (for "càng ngày càng").

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Càng đông càng vui: The more people, the merrier.

  • Cứ đến đi, càng đông càng vui mà! (Just come, it's the more the merrier!)

• Càng già càng dẻo càng dai: An idiom meaning one becomes more experienced, resilient, or cunning with age.

  • Ông ấy làm việc rất khéo, đúng là càng già càng dẻo càng dai. (He works very skillfully; it's true that with age comes experience and tenacity.)

noun

1. Chela, claw, nipper, pincers
2. Shaft
   • càng xe bò
     an ox-cart shaft
   • càng xe cút kích
     a wheelbarrow shaft

adv

1. (dùng trước động từ, tính từ) All the more, all the...-er
   • có gió, lửa càng bốc to
     a wind rose, so the fire mounted all the higher
   • Chúng ta vui sướng hôm nay, Càng nên nhớ lại những ngày gian lao
     as we are happy today, we all the more have to remember the hard days of the past
2. The more...; the...-er the...-er
   • bản nhạc càng nghe càng thấy hay