Definition

1. Noun:

   • Rein(s): A strap, typically made of leather, attached to a horse's bit, used by a rider or driver to control and guide the animal.

2. Verb:

   • To improvise (in performance): For an actor or performer to invent dialogue, actions, or a part of the performance spontaneously, without a pre-written script.

3. Adjective:

   • Turgid; swollen; engorged: Describes a state of being swollen, hard, and tense due to the accumulation of fluid, such as pus, blood, or milk.
   • Firm; resolute; unyielding: Describes a manner, attitude, or policy that is strong, strict, and inflexible, often contrasted with a soft or yielding ("nhu") approach.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Người kỵ sĩ nắm chặt dây cương. (The rider gripped the reins tightly.)
• Verb:
  • Diễn viên hài rất giỏi cương trên sân khấu. (The comedian is very good at improvising on stage.)
• Adjective:
  • Cái nhọt đã cương mủ. (The boil has become turgid with pus.)
  • Nhà lãnh đạo có đường lối cương quyết. (The leader has a firm and resolute policy.)

Advanced Usage

• "cương nhu": A compound describing the strategic use of both firmness and softness, hardness and gentleness.
  • Nghệ thuật đối ngoại là biết kết hợp cương nhu. (The art of diplomacy is knowing how to combine firmness and flexibility.)

Variants and Related Words

• Cương quyết (adj): Resolute, determined.

  • Cô ấy rất cương quyết bảo vệ ý kiến của mình. (She is very resolute in defending her opinion.)

• Cường điệu (v): To exaggerate, to overstate. (Note: This is a separate word, not a direct variant of "cương", but sometimes associated in learning due to phonetic similarity).

Synonyms

• Noun: Bridle, checkrein.
• Verb: Ad-lib, extemporize.
• Adjective (swollen): Inflamed, distended.
• Adjective (firm): Inflexible, steadfast, uncompromising.

Related Idioms

• Nắm cương: To hold the reins; to be in control or in a leadership position.

  • Ông ấy đang nắm cương chính phủ. (He is holding the reins of the government.)

• Lúc cương lúc nhu: Sometimes firm, sometimes soft; to alternate strategies.

  • Một nhà đàm phán giỏi biết lúc cương lúc nhu. (A good negotiator knows when to be firm and when to be soft.)

noun

1. Rein; bridge

verb

1. to impaovise

adj

1. Turgid
   • nhọt đã cương mủ
     A bool turgid with pus