Definition

1. Noun:

   • Mile: A traditional unit of distance measurement, approximately equal to half a kilometer (nearly 500 meters) in Vietnam.
   • Road, path: An archaic or literary term for a road or a long stretch of journey.

2. Verb:

   • To paint in watercolours: To apply paint using a water-based medium, creating translucent layers of color.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Mile):

  • Một dặm đường ở Việt Nam xưa tương đương khoảng 500 mét. (One dặm in old Vietnam was approximately 500 meters.)
  • Sai một li, đi một dặm. (An error of a li leads to a deviation of a dặm.) [Proverb meaning a small initial mistake can lead to a large error.]

• Noun (Road/Path):

  • Bóng chiều đã ngả, dặm về còn xa. (The evening shadow has fallen, the dặm (road) home is still far.)

• Verb (To paint in watercolours):

  • Nghệ sĩ ấy thích dặm tranh thủy mặc. (That artist likes to dặm (paint in watercolours) ink wash paintings.)

Advanced Usage

• "Sai một li, đi một dặm": A proverb. Literally "An error of a leads to a deviation of a ." It is used to emphasize how a tiny initial mistake can result in a vastly incorrect outcome, similar to "A miss is as good as a mile."

Variants and Related Words

• Dặm đường (noun phrase): A road, a journey measured in miles.
  • Dặm đường phía trước còn rất dài. (The road ahead is still very long.)
• Thủy dặm (noun): A term related to the art of watercolor painting.

Synonyms

• Lý (noun): Another traditional unit of distance, longer than a (often about 500 meters for a vs. about 500 meters for a historically, but usage varied).
• Đường (noun): Road, path (the common modern word).
• Tô màu nước (verb phrase): To paint with watercolors (a more common descriptive phrase for the verb meaning).

Notes on Different Meanings

• The use of dặm as a noun meaning "mile" is historical and proverbial in modern Vietnamese. The metric system (kilometers, meters) is standard today.
• The use of dặm as a noun meaning "road" is now primarily found in classical poetry and literary contexts.
• The use of dặm as a verb meaning "to paint in watercolours" is a specialized, less common usage related to fine arts.

noun

1. mile; road

verb

1. to paint in water colours