Definition

1. Noun:
   • Weed, darnel: "cỏ lùng" refers to a type of weed, specifically darnel (Lolium temulentum), a grass that often grows among cereal crops like wheat.
   • Metaphor for something harmful or negative: In a figurative sense, it can represent something bad or harmful mixed in with the good.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Người nông dân nhổ cỏ lùng ra khỏi ruộng lúa mì. (The farmer pulls the darnel out of the wheat field.)
  • Trong xã hội luôn tồn tại những "cỏ lùng" cần được loại bỏ. (In society, there always exist "weeds" that need to be removed.)

Advanced Usage

• Biblical/Proverbial Reference: The term is famously used in the Parable of the Weeds (the Tares) in the Bible (Matthew 13:24-30), where "cỏ lùng" (tares/darnel) is sown among the good wheat by an enemy.
  • Câu chuyện ngụ ngôn về cỏ lùng và lúa mì. (The parable of the tares and the wheat.)

Variants and Related Words

• Cỏ dại (n): A general term for weed.
  • Khu vườn đầy cỏ dại. (The garden is full of weeds.)
• Lùng (as a component): This element typically appears in "cỏ lùng" and is not commonly used independently with the same meaning.

Synonyms

• Cỏ dại: weed.
• Tares (Biblical/literary English equivalent): This is the specific translation often used for "cỏ lùng" in the biblical context.

Related Phrases/Idioms

• Phân biệt lúa mì và cỏ lùng: To separate the wheat from the tares. This idiom means to distinguish good from bad, or valuable from worthless.
  • Công việc của nhà phê bình là phân biệt lúa mì và cỏ lùng trong văn học. (The critic's job is to separate the wheat from the tares in literature.)