Definition

1. Noun (Collective Noun):
   • Tigers and leopards; ferocious beasts (used generally): A collective term referring to large, dangerous wild cats, primarily tigers and leopards, and by extension, other fierce predatory animals.
   • (Figurative) Cruel and wicked people: Used metaphorically to describe people who are exceptionally brutal, savage, or ruthless in their behavior.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Literal):
  • Rừng sâu ẩn chứa đủ loại hùm beo. (The deep jungle hides all kinds of tigers and leopards.)
  • Tiếng gầm của hùm beo vang vọng trong đêm. (The roar of the wild beasts echoed through the night.)
• Noun (Figurative):
  • Bọn cướp đó là lũ hùm beo, không chút tình người. (Those robbers are a pack of savages, without a shred of humanity.)
  • Hắn ta có bộ mặt hiền lành nhưng thực chất là một con hùm beo. (He has a gentle face but is essentially a ruthless beast.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "hùm beo" is often used in proverbs, folk poetry, and literary contexts to evoke imagery of raw danger, wild nature, or extreme cruelty. It functions as a fixed compound, with its meaning greater than the sum of its parts ("hùm" meaning tiger and "beo" meaning leopard).

Variants and Related Words

• Hổ (n): Tiger. The specific animal.
  • Hổ là chúa sơn lâm. (The tiger is the king of the jungle.)
• Báo (n): Leopard, panther. The specific animal.
  • Con báo đốm đang rình mồi. (The spotted leopard is stalking its prey.)
• Thú dữ (n): Wild beast, ferocious animal. A more general modern term.
  • Chuồng thú dữ ở sở thú. (The wild animal enclosure at the zoo.)

Synonyms

• Ferocious animals / beasts: For the literal meaning.
• Brutes / savages / monsters: For the figurative meaning describing cruel people.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Nanh vuốt hùm beo: Literally "the fangs and claws of tigers and leopards," meaning the tools or methods of someone cruel and dangerous.
  • Kẻ ấy đang giơ nanh vuốt hùm beo ra với mọi người. (That person is baring the fangs and claws of a beast towards everyone.)
• Lòng lang dạ thú / dạ sói: Literally "the heart of a wolf, the guts of a beast," a similar idiom describing someone with a bestial, inhuman nature.
  • Hắn có lòng lang dạ thú, chẳng biết thương người. (He has the heart of a wolf, knowing no compassion for others.)

1. Tiger and fanther; ferocious animals (nói khái quát).
2. (b) Cruel and wicked people