Definition

1. Verb:
   • To carry (a load) on one's shoulder using a pole (đòn gánh) with two hanging baskets or bundles: This is the primary and concrete meaning, describing the traditional method of transporting goods.
   • To bear a burden, to shoulder a heavy responsibility: A figurative meaning derived from the physical act, describing the act of taking on difficult duties or hardships, often alone.

Usage Examples

• Verb (Literal):
  • Bà ấy gồng gánh rau ra chợ bán mỗi sáng. (She carries vegetables to the market to sell every morning.)
  • Ngày xưa, người nông dân thường gồng gánh lúa từ đồng về nhà. (In the past, farmers often carried rice from the field home on a pole.)
• Verb (Figurative):
  • Một mình chị ấy gồng gánh cả gia đình sau khi chồng mất. (She alone bears the burden of the whole family after her husband's death.)
  • Anh ấy đang gồng gánh một khoản nợ rất lớn. (He is shouldering a very large debt.)

Advanced Usage

• "gồng gánh vất vả": to laboriously carry a burden; to struggle under a heavy load/responsibility.
  • Cả đời ông ấy gồng gánh vất vả để nuôi các con ăn học. (His whole life, he struggled under the burden to raise and educate his children.)
• "gánh nặng phải gồng gánh": a burden that must be borne.
  • Đó là gánh nặng mà cô ấy phải một mình gồng gánh. (That is the burden she must bear alone.)

Variants and Related Words

• Gánh (verb/noun): To carry on a pole; a load, a burden. Often used interchangeably with "gồng gánh" but can be simpler.
• Đòn gánh (noun): The carrying pole, the essential tool for "gồng gánh".
• Gánh hàng (noun): The load of goods being carried.
• Gánh vác (verb): To undertake, to assume (a responsibility). This is almost exclusively used in the figurative sense.

Synonyms

• Khiêng/vác: To carry (on the shoulder or by multiple people), but not specifically with a pole.
• Mang vác: To carry loads.
• Đảm đương/đảm nhận: To undertake, to assume (for responsibilities - figurative sense).

Related Idioms

• "Gồng nặng gánh nhẹ": (Literal: The is heavy, the is light) An idiom highlighting the difficulty and hardship of manual labor and bearing burdens. It emphasizes the toil involved.
  • Cuộc đời làm thuê của họ là một chuỗi ngày gồng nặng gánh nhẹ. (Their life as hired laborers is a series of days of heavy toil.)
• "Một sự nhịn, chín sự lành": (One act of forbearance, nine acts of peace) While not directly containing the word, this proverb relates to the figurative meaning of enduring hardship ("gồng gánh" a difficulty) for a greater good.

1. Carry (on one's shoulder) with a pole and two hangers