Definition

1. Noun:

   • A lump, a clod, a chunk: A small, solid, and often irregularly shaped mass of a substance.
   • An office, a bureau, a department: A central government agency, typically under a ministry or a general department, responsible for a specific sector of work.

2. Adjective:

   • Coarse, rough, uncouth: Describes a person who is easily irritated and often has rude manners or speech.

Usage Examples

• Noun (lump):
  • Trên đường có một cục đá. (There is a lump of stone on the road.)
  • Máu đông lại thành cục. (The blood clotted into a lump.)
• Noun (department):
  • Ông ấy làm việc ở Cục Hải quan. (He works at the Customs Department.)
• Adjective:
  • Anh ta ăn nói rất cục cằn. (He speaks in a very coarse manner.)

Advanced Usage

• "cục cưng": A term of endearment meaning "darling" or "sweetie," literally "little lump." It is affectionate and often used for children or romantic partners.
  • Cục cưng của mẹ đây rồi! (Here's mommy's darling!)

Variants and Related Words

• Cục bộ (adj): Local, partial, limited to a specific area.
  • Đó chỉ là vấn đề cục bộ. (That is only a local issue.)
• Cục súc (adj): Brutish, savage, behaving in a violently coarse manner.
  • Hành động cục súc đó không thể chấp nhận được. (That brutish behavior is unacceptable.)

Synonyms

• Lump/Clod/Chunk: khối, tảng, mẩu.
• Bureau/Department: vụ, sở, ban.
• Coarse/Rough: thô lỗ, cộc cằn, thô bạo.

Related Idioms

• Cục đất, cục vàng: Literally "a lump of earth, a lump of gold." An idiom expressing the idea that something (or someone) is only valued when it is lost or gone.
  • Sống cục đất, chết cục vàng. (Alive, a lump of earth; dead, a lump of gold.)
• Nóng như cục than: Literally "as hot as a lump of coal." Means to be very angry or furious.
  • Nghe tin đó, anh ấy nóng như cục than. (Hearing that news, he was as hot as a lump of coal [furious].)

1. clod; clot; lump; piece
   • cục đá
     A piece of stone

noun

1. Office; ministry department
   • cục xuất bản
     The publish department

adj

1. Rough; coarse
   • kẻ cục cằn
     A rough person