Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Curved; Bent: Describes something that is not straight, often with a rounded or arched shape, particularly used for a hunched back.
   • Stiff; Rigid (in a bent state): Describes something, like a limb or joint, that is fixed in a bent position and difficult to straighten.

2. Noun:

   • Fetters; Handcuffs; Irons: A restraining device, typically made of metal, used to shackle the wrists or ankles of a prisoner.
   • Kind of small crab: A type of small, edible crab resembling a fiddler crab, commonly found in brackish waters and coastal mudflats.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • Bà lão lưng còng. (The old woman has a hunched back.)
  • Tay tôi bị cứng còng sau chấn thương. (My arm became stiff and bent after the injury.)

• Noun (Restraint):

  • Cảnh sát khoá còng số tám vào tay tên tội phạm. (The police locked the figure-eight handcuffs onto the criminal's wrists.)
  • Hắn bị còng lại. (He was handcuffed.)

• Noun (Crab):

  • Trẻ con đi bắt còng ở ven đầm. (The children go to catch small crabs by the lagoon.)

Advanced Usage

• "còng lưng": To work extremely hard, often to the point of physical strain (literally "to have a bent back").

  • Ông ấy còng lưng làm việc cả đời để nuôi gia đình. (He worked his back bent his whole life to support his family.)

• "còng tay" / "còng chân": To handcuff someone's hands or shackle their feet.

  • Tên cướp bị còng tay dẫn đi. (The robber was led away in handcuffs.)

Variants and Related Words

• Còng còng (adj): Somewhat bent or curved.
• Cứng còng (adj): Stiff and bent; rigid in a curved position.

Synonyms

• Adjective: Bent, curved, hunched, arched.
• Noun (Restraint): Shackles, manacles, irons, restraints.
• Noun (Crab): Fiddler crab, mangrove crab.

Related Idioms and Proverbs

• Cua với còng cũng dòng nhà nó.: Literally "The crab and the crab are of the same family." Figuratively means they are all of the same kind, often used to imply someone is just as bad as another.
• Thằng còng làm cho thằng ngay ăn.: Literally "The bent one works for the straight one to eat." A proverb commenting on social injustice, where the cunning or corrupt person exploits the honest one.

adj

1. curved; bent

noun

1. Kind of mall crab
2. Irons; fetters; handcuff