Definition

1. Noun:
   • A writing instrument: "cây bút" primarily refers to a pen, a tool used for writing or drawing with ink.
   • A writer, an author: In a figurative and literary sense, "cây bút" can also refer to a person who writes professionally, an author or a writer.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Writing instrument):

  • Tôi cần một cây bút để ký tên. (I need a pen to sign my name.)
  • Cây bút này hết mực rồi. (This pen has run out of ink.)

• Noun (Writer):

  • Ông ấy là một cây bút nổi tiếng của báo chí. (He is a famous writer for the press.)
  • Cây bút trẻ đó có phong cách viết rất độc đáo. (That young writer has a very unique writing style.)

Advanced Usage

• "cây bút chì": This is a compound word meaning "pencil." It is listed here as a common variant but is a distinct term.
• "cây bút bi": This is a compound word meaning "ballpoint pen." It is listed here as a common variant but is a distinct term.
• "cây bút lông": This is a compound word meaning "brush pen" or "calligraphy brush." It is listed here as a common variant but is a distinct term.

Variants and Related Words

• Bút: A shorter, more common form of "cây bút," meaning "pen." It can also be used in many compound words.
• Viết: A Southern Vietnamese regional synonym for "bút," meaning "pen."
• Ngòi bút: Literally "pen nib," often used metaphorically to mean "writing style" or "the writer's craft."
  • Ngòi bút sắc sảo của ông ấy. (His sharp/incisive writing style.)

Synonyms

• Vật dụng viết: Writing implement (for the tool).
• Tác giả: Author (for the person).
• Nhà văn: Writer, novelist (for the person, often implying literary works).

Related Phrases

• Cầm bút: To take up the pen, to start writing.
  • Anh ấy đã cầm bút từ rất sớm. (He started writing from a very young age.)
• Buông bút: To put down the pen, to stop writing (often used figuratively for retiring from writing).
  • Nhà văn già đã buông bút. (The old writer has put down his pen.)

Related Idioms

• Cây bút sắc: Literally "a sharp pen," meaning a writer with a sharp, critical, or effective style.
  • Ông được mệnh danh là cây bút sắc của làng báo. (He is known as the sharp pen of the press circle.)
• Lực bất tòng tâm, bút bất tòng ý: An idiom describing a situation where one's physical strength or writing skill cannot keep up with one's intentions or thoughts.

1. Pen (Mỹ), writer
   • cây bút quen thuộc
     a familiar writer
   • cây bút có triển vọng
     a promising writer