Definition

1. Noun:
   • Pufferfish: A type of fish known for its ability to inflate its body into a ball shape as a defense mechanism. Many species contain a potent toxin called tetrodotoxin.
   • Globe fish, blowfish: Other common names for this fish.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Cá nóc là một loài cá độc. (The pufferfish is a poisonous fish.)
  • Đầu bếp phải có giấy phép đặc biệt để chế biến cá nóc. (Chefs need a special license to prepare pufferfish.)
  • Khi bị đe dọa, cá nóc phồng người lên. (When threatened, the pufferfish inflates itself.)

Advanced Usage

• "Cá nóc độc": Toxic/poisonous pufferfish.
  • Việc ăn cá nóc độc có thể gây tử vong. (Eating a toxic pufferfish can be fatal.)
• "Thịt cá nóc": Pufferfish meat/flesh.
  • Thịt cá nóc là một món ăn đắt tiền và nguy hiểm ở Nhật Bản. (Pufferfish meat is an expensive and dangerous delicacy in Japan.)

Variants and Related Words

• Cá nóc hòm (Noun): Boxfish, trunkfish. A different type of fish with a rigid, box-like body.
• Cá nóc gai (Noun): Porcupinefish. A type of pufferfish covered in spines.
• Độc tố cá nóc / Tetrodotoxin (Noun): The potent neurotoxin found in pufferfish.

Synonyms

• Cá phình: A descriptive synonym meaning "inflating fish."
• Cá bống vện: A local name for certain pufferfish species in some regions of Vietnam.

Related Phrases

• Phồng mang trợn má như cá nóc: (Idiom) To puff up one's cheeks and bulge one's eyes like a pufferfish. Used to describe someone who is very angry or puffed up with pride/arrogance.
  • Anh ta tức giận, phồng mang trợn má như cá nóc. (He was so angry, he puffed up like a pufferfish.)

1. Puffer