Definition

1. Noun:
   • Trees and plants, vegetation: "cây cối" refers to plants in general, including trees, shrubs, and other vegetation, often considered collectively as a natural feature of a landscape.

Usage

• "Cây cối" is a collective noun. It is typically used with singular verbs in Vietnamese, but its English equivalents ("vegetation," "plants," "trees") can be singular or plural depending on context.
• It describes the general plant life in an area, not individual, specific plants. To refer to a single plant, use "cây" (tree/plant).
• Commonly used in contexts discussing nature, the environment, ecology, and descriptions of landscapes.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Cây cối trong rừng rất xanh tốt. (The vegetation in the forest is very lush.)
  • Thành phố này thiếu cây cối. (This city lacks trees/plants.)
  • Sau cơn bão, cây cối bị đổ ngã khắp nơi. (After the storm, trees were fallen everywhere.)

Advanced Usage

• "Cây cối um tùm": dense/thick/luxuriant vegetation.
  • Khu vườn hoang đầy cây cối um tùm. (The abandoned garden is full of dense vegetation.)
• "Cây cối xanh tươi": fresh green plants/trees.
  • Mùa xuân, cây cối xanh tươi trở lại. (In spring, the trees become green and fresh again.)

Variants and Related Words

• Cây (n): A tree; a plant. This is the singular form.
  • Tôi trồng một cây táo. (I planted an apple tree.)
• Thực vật (n): Flora, plants (more formal/scientific term for plant life).
  • Nghiên cứu về thực vật (The study of plants/flora)

Synonyms

• Thảm thực vật: Plant cover, vegetation (often used in scientific/geographical contexts).
• Cỏ cây: Plants and grass (a more poetic or general term for plant life).

Notes

• "Cây cối" is a reduplicative word, formed by repeating the core word "cây" with a tonal change ("cối"). This grammatical form often creates a collective or generalized meaning. Similar to how "cây" means a single plant/tree, "cây cối" refers to plants as a collective group.
• There are no direct phrasal verbs or idioms in English that are exact translations of "cây cối" itself, as it is a noun. The idioms and descriptive phrases are formed in Vietnamese, as shown in the "Advanced Usage" section.

1. Trees and plants, vegetation
   • bảo vệ cây cối trong công viên
     to protect vegetation in public parks