gọng vó
Definition
- Noun:
- Water strider: A common name for insects of the family Gerridae that can walk on the surface of water due to surface tension. This is the primary and most frequent meaning.
- Sundew: A carnivorous plant of the genus Drosera that traps insects with sticky, glandular leaves. This is a less common, specialized botanical meaning.
Usage Examples
Noun (Insect):
- Những con gọng vó đang lướt trên mặt ao. (Water striders are skimming across the pond's surface.)
- Trẻ con thích thú nhìn đàn gọng vó bơi. (The children are fascinated watching the swarm of water striders swim.)
Noun (Plant):
- Cây gọng vó bắt côn trùng bằng chất dính trên lá. (The sundew catches insects with the sticky substance on its leaves.)
- Gọng vó là một loại thực vật ăn thịt. (The sundew is a type of carnivorous plant.)
Advanced Usage
- The word is a compound noun. The meaning is almost always determined by context (aquatic environment vs. botanical context). In everyday Vietnamese, the insect meaning is dominant.
Variants and Related Words
- Bọ gọng vó: A more specific term emphasizing it is an insect ("bọ").
- Cây gọng vó: A more specific term for the plant, using "cây" (plant/tree).
Synonyms
- For the insect: Pond skater, water skater, Jesus bug.
- For the plant: Sundew (common English name for ).
Notes on Meaning
- This is a clear example of a single Vietnamese term with two distinct meanings referring to different natural organisms (an insect and a plant). They are homonyms within the language. The shared imagery in the name likely comes from the long, thin legs of the insect and the sticky, trapping nature of the plant's leaves, both "catching" things.