Definition

1. Noun:

   • A type of backpack or basket: A "gùi" is a container woven from materials like bamboo or rattan, traditionally used by some ethnic groups in Vietnam's mountainous regions to carry items on the back. It is carried using shoulder straps or a head strap.
   • A dosser: This is the direct English equivalent, referring to a basket or pack carried on the back.

2. Verb:

   • To carry on the back using a "gùi": The action of transporting goods or items using this specific type of backpack or basket.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • Người phụ nữ địu con và mang một gùi củi. (The woman carries her child on her back and a gùi of firewood.)
  • Chiếc gùi này được đan rất tinh xảo. (This gùi is woven very intricately.)

• Verb:

  • Họ gùi nông sản xuống chợ bán. (They gùi agricultural products down to the market to sell.)
  • Sáng sớm, bà đã gùi hàng đi. (Early in the morning, she already gùi-ed her goods and left.)

Advanced Usage

• Cultural Context: The "gùi" is more than a tool; it represents the lifestyle and ingenuity of various ethnic minorities in Vietnam. It is often featured in descriptions of daily life, travel, and work in the highlands.
• "gùi lưng": This phrase emphasizes carrying the basket on one's back.
  • Những người leo núi thấy các em nhỏ gùi lưng đi học. (The hikers saw the children going to school with baskets on their backs.)

Variants and Related Words

• Cái gùi: The classifier "cái" is commonly used with "gùi" (e.g., - a basket).
• Địu: A different type of baby carrier or sling, often made of cloth, used to carry a child on the back or front. While both are carried on the back, a "gùi" is rigid and for goods, and an "địu" is soft and for babies.

Synonyms

• Noun:
  • Basket: A more general term for a container made of woven materials.
  • Backpack/Rucksack: Modern equivalents for carrying items on the back, though not woven.
• Verb:
  • To carry on one's back: The general action.
  • To tote: To carry, especially something heavy.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Gùi theo: To carry along with using a "gùi".
  • Anh ấy gùi theo đủ thứ dụng cụ. (He carried along all kinds of tools in his basket.)

Related Idioms

• Nặng như gùi đá: (As heavy as a basket of rocks) - An idiom describing something extremely heavy, either physically or metaphorically (e.g., a burden or responsibility).
  • Cảm giác tội lỗi ấy nặng như gùi đá. (That feeling of guilt is as heavy as a basket of rocks.)

noun

1. dosser