cọp
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- Tiger: A large, powerful wild cat (Panthera tigris) with a yellow-orange coat and black stripes, native to Asia.
- Figuratively, a fierce or formidable person: Used to describe someone who is very fierce, strict, or powerful.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Trong rừng có một con cọp rất to. (There is a very large tiger in the forest.)
- Ông hiệu trưởng trường tôi nghiêm khắc như một con cọp. (My school's principal is as strict as a tiger.)
- Cọp là loài động vật ăn thịt đáng sợ. (The tiger is a fearsome carnivorous animal.)
Advanced Usage
- "cọp cái": Tigress (a female tiger).
- Cọp cái thường đi săn để nuôi đàn con. (The tigress often hunts to feed her cubs.)
- "miệng cọp": Literally "tiger's mouth"; a very dangerous place or situation.
- Vào hang ổ của bọn tội phạm như vào miệng cọp. (Entering the criminals' den is like entering a tiger's mouth.)
- "mặt cọp": Literally "tiger face"; a fierce or angry facial expression.
- Anh ta nổi giận, mặt đỏ như mặt cọp. (He got angry, his face turned red like a tiger's face.)
Variants and Related Words
- Hổ: The more formal and scientific synonym for "cọp". "Cọp" is more common in Southern Vietnamese, while "hổ" is used nationwide and in formal contexts.
- Hổ Đông Dương là một phân loài của hổ. (The Indochinese tiger is a subspecies of tiger.)
- Beo: Leopard or panther. (A different big cat, sometimes confused by learners).
- Sư tử: Lion.
Synonyms
- Hổ: Tiger (formal synonym).
- Kẻ hung dữ: Fierce person/creature (figurative).
Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)
- "Bắt cọp": Literally "to catch a tiger"; to undertake an extremely difficult or dangerous task.
- Dự án này khó khăn, anh định bắt cọp à? (This project is difficult, are you trying to catch a tiger?)
- "Nuôi cọp trong nhà": Literally "to raise a tiger in the house"; to harbor a dangerous person or threat.
- Tin tên phản bội ấy là nuôi cọp trong nhà. (Trusting that traitor is like raising a tiger in the house.)
Related Idioms
- "Cọp dữ không ăn thịt con": Literally "A fierce tiger does not eat its own cubs"; even the fiercest person has love for their own children.
- Dù ông ấy rất nghiêm khắc, nhưng cọp dữ không ăn thịt con mà. (Although he is very strict, even a fierce tiger does not eat its own cubs.)
- "Hùm chết để da, người ta chết để tiếng": Literally "A tiger dies leaving its skin, a person dies leaving their reputation"; a person's legacy is their reputation. (Uses "hùm", a literary variant of "hổ/cọp").
- "Rước cọp về nhà": Similar to "nuôi cọp trong nhà"; to bring a disaster upon oneself.