Definition

1. Noun:

   • A raindrop: A single, small, distinct particle of liquid water that falls from clouds as part of rain.

2. Noun (figurative):

   • A metaphor for fate or social standing: In Vietnamese literature and folk poetry, "hạt mưa" (raindrop) is a common metaphor symbolizing the smallness, fragility, and unpredictable destiny of a person, often a young woman, whose life is subject to the whims of fate or social circumstances.

Usage Examples

• Literal meaning:

  • Những hạt mưa đầu mùa rơi lộp bộp trên mái tôn. (The first raindrops of the season fell noisily on the tin roof.)
  • Cô bé hứng lấy hạt mưa trên tay. (The little girl caught a raindrop in her hand.)

• Figurative meaning:

  • "Thân em như hạt mưa sa, / Hạt vào đài các, hạt ra ruộng lầy." ("My life is like a falling raindrop, / One drop lands in a palace, another in a muddy field.")
  • Số phận của cô ấy bấp bênh như hạt mưa. (Her fate is as precarious as a raindrop.)

Advanced Usage

• The figurative usage is almost exclusively poetic and literary. It evokes a sense of powerlessness, randomness, and the contrast between high and low social status, based on where the raindrop happens to fall.

Variants and Related Words

• Giọt mưa (n): Another term for a raindrop or drop of rain, often used interchangeably with "hạt mưa" but can sometimes imply a slightly larger or more distinct drop.
• Mưa (n): Rain.

Synonyms

• Raindrop: A drop of rain.
• Drop: A small round mass of liquid.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Hạt mưa, hạt nắng: A phrase describing the basic, often difficult, necessities of life (like dealing with rain and sun).
  • Lo cơm áo gạo tiền, hạt mưa hạt nắng. (To worry about food, clothing, money, and the daily hardships of life.)