Definition

1. Noun:

   • Bridge: A structure built to span and provide passage over a physical obstacle like a river, road, or valley.
   • Ball: A spherical object used in games, sports, or as a toy.
   • Shuttlecock: A traditional toy, often made with a small weight and feathers or paper, kicked or kept in the air using the feet.
   • Demand: (Economics) The desire and ability to purchase goods or services at a given price.

2. Verb:

   • To pray / to beseech: To earnestly ask or request, often from a divine or higher power.
   • To wish for / to desire: To express a strong hope or want for something.
   • To seek / to resort to: To go to someone or something for help, advice, or a solution.

3. Adjective:

   • Spherical: Having the shape of a sphere or ball.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • Cây cầu bắc qua sông Hồng rất đẹp. (The bridge spanning the Red River is very beautiful.)
  • Đứa trẻ đang chơi với quả cầu. (The child is playing with the ball.)
  • Họ đang thi đá cầu. (They are having a shuttlecock kicking competition.)
  • Luật cung và cầu chi phối thị trường. (The law of supply and demand governs the market.)

• Verb:

  • Bà tôi thường lên chùa cầu an. (My grandmother often goes to the temple to pray for peace.)
  • Tôi chỉ cầu mong mọi người được bình an. (I only wish for everyone's safety.)
  • Bệnh nặng quá, phải cầu đến bác sĩ giỏi. (The illness is too severe; we must seek a skilled doctor.)

• Adjective:

  • Trái đất có hình cầu. (The Earth has a spherical shape.)

Advanced Usage

• "cầu được ước thấy": An idiom meaning "to have one's wishes come true" or "to get everything one wishes for."

  • Cô ấy cầu được ước thấy trong năm mới. (She got everything she wished for in the new year.)

• "cầu hôn": To propose marriage.

  • Anh ấy cầu hôn cô ấy dưới ánh trăng. (He proposed to her under the moonlight.)

• "cầu cứu": To call for help, to send an SOS.

  • Con tàu gửi tín hiệu cầu cứu. (The ship sent a distress signal.)

Variants and Related Words

• Cầu lông (n): The sport of badminton; also refers to the badminton shuttlecock.

  • Chúng tôi chơi cầu lông mỗi chiều. (We play badminton every afternoon.)

• Cầu thủ (n): Player (especially in ball sports like football).

  • Cầu thủ đó ghi bàn thắng đẹp. (That player scored a beautiful goal.)

• Cầu nguyện (v): To pray (often with a religious connotation).

  • Họ cầu nguyện trước bữa ăn. (They pray before the meal.)

• Khẩu cầu (n): Verbal demand or request.

  • Đó chỉ là khẩu cầu, chưa có văn bản chính thức. (That is just a verbal request, not an official document.)

Synonyms

• Bridge: Viaduct, overpass.
• Ball: Sphere, orb.
• To pray: To implore, to supplicate.
• To wish: To hope, to desire.
• Spherical: Round, globular.

Related Idioms

• Ăn không cầu no, ở không cầu yên: An idiom describing a state of contentment, not demanding fullness when eating or absolute peace when staying.
• Bắc cầu kiều: To build a bridge; figuratively, to act as a mediator or facilitator.
  • Ông ấy bắc cầu kiều cho hai công ty hợp tác. (He facilitated the cooperation between the two companies.)

noun

1. Ball
   • tung hứng cầu
     to juggle with balls
2. Shuttlecock (sent forth and back by kicks)
3. Demand
   • sự cân đối giữa cung và cầu
     a balance between demand and supply
4. Bridge
   • cầu bắc qua sông
     a bridge built across a river
5. Enlightening experience
   • Đoạn trường ai có qua cầu mới hay
     such a heart-cutting pain is an enlightening experience one should go through to know