Definition

Noun: 1. Sheep: A domesticated ruminant mammal (Ovis aries) kept for its wool, meat (mutton), and milk. It is typically characterized by a thick woolly coat and is often raised in flocks. 2. (Archaic, literary) Hatred, enmity, feud: A deep-seated feeling of animosity or a state of prolonged mutual hostility.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Animal):
  • Nông dân nuôi nhiều cừu trên đồi. (The farmer raises many sheep on the hill.)
  • Lông cừu được dùng để kéo sợi len. (Sheep wool is used to spin yarn.)
  • Con cừu cái đang cho con bú. (The ewe is feeding its lamb.)
• Noun (Archaic - Hatred):
  • Hai gia tộc có mối thù cừu kéo dài nhiều đời. (The two families have a generational feud.)

Advanced Usage

• "cừu non": Literally "young sheep," meaning a lamb. Often used metaphorically to describe someone very gentle and innocent.
  • Cô bé hiền như cừu non. (The little girl is as gentle as a lamb.)
• "con cừu đen": Literally "the black sheep." This is a direct loan translation of the English idiom, used to describe a disreputable or disgraceful member of a family or group.
  • Anh ta luôn bị coi là con cừu đen trong gia đình. (He is always considered the black sheep of the family.)

Variants and Related Words

• cừu cái (n): Ewe (a female sheep).
• thịt cừu (n): Mutton (the meat from a sheep).
• cừu đực (n): Ram (a male sheep).
• cừu con (n): Lamb (a young sheep).
• người chăn cừu (n): Shepherd.
• bầy cừu / đàn cừu (n): Flock of sheep.
• lông cừu (n): Sheep's wool.
• (Archaic) oán cừu (n): Hatred, enmity (combining words for "grudge" and "feud").

Synonyms

• (For the animal): None commonly used in modern Vietnamese. "Chiên" is an archaic/poetic/literary term sometimes found in classical texts or Christian contexts ("Con Chiên của Chúa" - Lamb of God).
• (For the archaic meaning - hatred): thù, thù hằn, hận, mối thù.

Related Phrases

• Nhảy cừu: A sport or exercise known in English as "vaulting" or "horse vaulting," using a piece of equipment originally shaped like a sheep. The phrase literally means "to jump (over) the sheep."
• Gây oán gây cừu: (Idiomatic, literary) To incur hatred or to create a feud; to make enemies.

Related Idioms

• Cừu vào hang sói: Literally "Sheep entering a wolf's den." Similar to the English idiom "like a lamb to the slaughter," meaning walking unsuspectingly into great danger.
• Hiền như cừu: As gentle as a sheep. Used to describe a very meek, docile, and harmless person.

noun

1. Sheep
   • thịt cừu
     Mutton
   • cừu cái
     The ewe