cô lậu
Definitions
- Adjective:
- Isolated and backward; remote and undeveloped: Describes a place that is geographically cut off and lacks modern development or civilization.
- Secluded and primitive; withdrawn and wild: Describes a state of being both socially isolated and culturally unsophisticated or untouched.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Vùng núi này còn rất cô lậu, chưa có điện hay đường xá. (This mountainous region is still very isolated and backward, with no electricity or roads.)
- Những bộ tộc sống cô lậu trong rừng sâu. (The tribes live in a secluded and primitive state deep in the forest.)
Advanced Usage
- This term is considered archaic or literary in modern Vietnamese. It is rarely used in everyday conversation but may appear in historical, geographical, or anthropological texts to describe extreme isolation and lack of development.
- It often carries a connotation of being untouched by or resistant to external (modern) influence.
Variants and Related Words
- Cô lập (adj): Isolated. This is the modern, more common term for "isolated," but it does not inherently carry the meaning of "backward" or "primitive."
- Lạc hậu (adj): Backward, outdated. This refers to being behind the times but does not necessarily imply geographical isolation.
- Hẻo lánh (adj): Remote, secluded. Refers to a faraway, difficult-to-reach place.
Synonyms
- Biệt lập: Secluded, cut off.
- Hoang sơ: Wild, pristine (often with a positive connotation of natural beauty, whereas is more neutral/negative regarding development).
Related Idioms or Phrases
- : To live in an isolated and primitive manner.
- Họ chọn sống cô lậu, xa rời thế giới hiện đại. (They choose to live in isolation, away from the modern world.)