Definition

1. Noun:
   • A small, card-shaped knife: A specialized knife with a long, slender blade, traditionally used for cutting areca nuts (betel nuts). It is a specific tool associated with the custom of betel chewing.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Ông cụ dùng dao cau để bổ quả cau. (The old man used a betel knife to split the areca nut.)
  • Dao cau là một vật dụng truyền thống trong bộ đồ ăn trầu. (The betel knife is a traditional item in the betel quid set.)

Advanced Usage

• Cultural Significance: The is more than just a tool; it is part of a traditional cultural set for preparing betel quids, which are used in rituals, ceremonies, and social interactions.
  • Trong lễ cưới, dao cau được bày biện cẩn thận cùng trầu cau. (In the wedding ceremony, the betel knife is carefully displayed with betel leaves and areca nuts.)

Variants and Related Words

• Dao (n): Knife. A general term for any knife.
• Cau (n): Areca nut, betel nut. The nut that this specific knife is designed to cut.

Synonyms

• Betel knife: The direct English translation describing its function.
• Areca nut cutter: A descriptive term for the tool.

Related Phrases

• Bộ dao cau: A betel knife set. This may refer to the knife along with its sheath or case.
  • Bộ dao cau bằng bạc rất tinh xảo. (The silver betel knife set is very intricate.)

Related Idioms

• While there are no direct idioms with , it is intrinsically linked to the idiom "Miếng trầu là đầu câu chuyện" (The betel quid is the start of a conversation), as the is the tool used to prepare that very betel quid.

1. Little card-shaped knife [for cutting areca-nuts]