dam
Definition
- Noun:
- A small crab, typically found in rice fields: In Vietnamese dialects, "dam" refers to a type of small crab, often called a rice paddy crab.
- A payment to the winner in a game: In the context of certain games or gambling, "dam" can mean the act of paying the winner or the sum paid.
Usage Examples
Noun (Crab):
- Trẻ con bắt được mấy con dam ngoài ruộng. (The children caught a few rice paddy crabs in the field.)
- Dam thường sống trong các bờ ruộng. (Rice paddy crabs often live in the banks of rice fields.)
Noun (Payment):
- Sau ván bài, anh ta phải đóng dam. (After the card game, he had to pay the winner.)
- Dam cho người thắng cuộc là năm mươi ngàn. (The payment for the winner is fifty thousand dong.)
Advanced Usage
- "Đánh dam": To play a game where the loser pays the winner.
- Họ ngồi đánh dam cả buổi chiều. (They sat playing that paying game all afternoon.)
Variants and Related Words
- Cua đồng: A more common, standard term for a field crab or rice paddy crab.
- Tiền thưởng: Prize money, a more general term for a winner's payment.
Synonyms
- Cua nhỏ: Small crab (for the animal meaning).
- Tiền thua: Loss payment (for the game meaning).
Related Phrases
- Thua dam: To lose and have to pay in such a game.
- Nó thua dam nên mặt buồn thiu. (He lost and had to pay, so he looked very sad.)
Related Idioms
- Chơi ăn dam: To play a game for money where the loser pays.
- Bọn trẻ không dám chơi ăn dam với ông ấy. (The kids don't dare to play that paying game with him.)