Definition

1. Verb:
   • To swarm (of bees): The primary meaning of "chia đàn" refers to the natural process where a colony of honeybees splits, with a portion of the bees and a new queen leaving the original hive to establish a new colony.
   • To divide a flock/herd: In a broader, less common zoological context, it can describe the splitting of a group of animals.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Đàn ong đang chia đàn, chúng tôi phải bắt bầy mới. (The bee colony is swarming; we have to catch the new swarm.)
  • Người chăn nuôi chia đàn bò để chúng có nhiều cỏ hơn. (The herder divided the herd of cattle so they would have more grass.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is highly specific to apiculture (beekeeping). The act of "chia đàn" is a critical event in the lifecycle of a bee colony that beekeepers often manage or anticipate.

Variants and Related Words

• Bầy ong chia đàn (n): a bee swarm (the physical group that has split off).
  • Bầy ong chia đàn đậu trên cành cây. (The bee swarm landed on a tree branch.)

Synonyms

• To swarm: (for bees) to leave the hive in a group to form a new colony.
• To split off: (for a group) to separate from a larger group.

Related Idioms

• While "chia đàn" itself is a technical term, it can be used metaphorically in Vietnamese to describe a group of people or things splitting into smaller factions, though this is an extended figurative use.
  • Công ty đó đang chia đàn sau cuộc khủng hoảng. (That company is splitting into factions after the crisis.)