Definition

1. Verb:

   • To nourish: To provide with the food or other substances necessary for growth, health, and good condition. Often used in the context of caring for the body or plants.
   • To foster / To cultivate: To encourage or promote the development of something, such as a skill, a relationship, or a quality.
   • To husband / To conserve: To use a resource carefully and sparingly; to preserve or maintain, especially one's strength or energy.

2. Noun (Technical):

   • Template / Gauge: A thin sheet or pattern (often with a complex curved outline) used to trace the contour of mechanical parts, or to check the dimensions and shape of a manufactured product against a standard.

Usage Examples

• Verb:

  • Cô ấy ăn uống đầy đủ để dưỡng cơ thể. (She eats adequately to nourish her body.)
  • Anh ấy dưỡng mối quan hệ với các đối tác. (He fosters the relationship with his partners.)
  • Sau khi ốm, bà ấy cần thời gian để dưỡng sức. (After being ill, she needs time to husband her strength.)

• Noun:

  • Người thợ dùng dưỡng để kiểm tra độ chính xác của chi tiết. (The worker uses a gauge to check the accuracy of the part.)

Advanced Usage

• "dưỡng thai": to nurture a pregnancy; to take care of oneself during pregnancy.

  • Bác sĩ khuyên cô ấy chế độ ăn để dưỡng thai. (The doctor advised her on a diet to nurture the pregnancy.)

• "dưỡng (tuổi) già": to provide for one's old age; to take care of oneself in later years.

  • Họ tiết kiệm để dưỡng già. (They save money to provide for their old age.)

Variants and Related Words

• Dưỡng sức (v): to recuperate; to husband one's strength.

  • Nghỉ ngơi để dưỡng sức. (Rest to recuperate.)

• Dưỡng bệnh (v): to convalesce; to recover from an illness through care and rest.

  • Ông ấy đang ở nhà để dưỡng bệnh. (He is at home to convalesce.)

• Dưỡng chất (n): nutrient; nourishing substance.

  • Thực phẩm này chứa nhiều dưỡng chất. (This food contains many nutrients.)

Synonyms

• Nourish: to feed, to sustain.
• Foster: to nurture, to encourage.
• Conserve: to preserve, to save.

Related Idioms

• Cha sinh mẹ dưỡng: A proverb meaning "The father gives life, the mother nurtures," highlighting the roles of parents in raising a child.
  • Công ơn cha sinh mẹ dưỡng. (The debt of gratitude for the father who gave life and the mother who nurtured.)

verb

1. to nourish; to foster; to husband
   • dưỡng sức
     to husband one's health