cưỡi
Definition
- Verb:
- To ride (an animal): To sit on and control the movement of an animal, typically a horse, elephant, or buffalo, for travel or work.
- To ride (a vehicle or object): In modern and colloquial usage, to sit on and operate or be carried by something like a bicycle, motorcycle, or even a wave.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Cô ấy học cách cưỡi ngựa. (She is learning how to ride a horse.)
- Anh ấy cưỡi xe máy đi làm. (He rides a motorbike to work.)
- Đứa trẻ thích cưỡi trên lưng bố. (The child likes to ride on his father's back.)
Advanced Usage
"cưỡi lên": to ride upon, to mount. Often implies climbing onto something to ride it.
- Người nông dân cưỡi lên con trâu. (The farmer mounted the buffalo.)
"cưỡi đầu cưỡi cổ": (idiomatic) to ride roughshod over someone; to bully or dominate someone completely.
- Ông chủ cũ cưỡi đầu cưỡi cổ nhân viên. (The old boss rode roughshod over the employees.)
Variants and Related Words
- Kỵ (v): A Sino-Vietnamese word also meaning to ride, often found in formal or compound words (e.g., kỵ binh - cavalry).
Synonyms
- To ride: The most direct synonym for sitting atop an animal or vehicle.
- To mount: To get onto the back of an animal.
- To straddle: To sit with a leg on each side of something.
Related Idioms
Cưỡi ngựa xem hoa: Literally "to ride a horse and look at flowers." It means to do something in a superficial, hurried, or casual manner without paying close attention.
- Anh ấy đọc báo cáo kiểu cưỡi ngựa xem hoa. (He read the report in a very cursory manner.)
Cưỡi hổ khó xuống: Literally "hard to get off when riding a tiger." It describes being stuck in a difficult or dangerous situation that one has started and cannot easily escape.
- Dự án thất bại, giờ họ như cưỡi hổ khó xuống. (The project failed; now they are in a situation they cannot easily get out of.)