Definition

1. Noun:
   • Sea-dog; seal: A marine mammal found in cold ocean regions, characterized by having flippers and a streamlined body adapted for swimming.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Hải cẩu là loài động vật có vú sống ở biển. (The seal is a marine mammal.)
  • Chúng tôi nhìn thấy một đàn hải cẩu trên tảng băng. (We saw a group of seals on the ice floe.)
  • Một số bộ lạc ở Bắc Cực săn hải cẩu để lấy thịt và da. (Some Arctic tribes hunt seals for their meat and skin.)

Advanced Usage

• "hải cẩu con": seal pup; baby seal.
  • Hải cẩu con thường có bộ lông màu trắng. (Seal pups often have white fur.)

Variants and Related Words

• Họ hải cẩu (Phocidae): The biological family of true seals (earless seals).
• Hải cẩu lông: fur seal.
• Hải cẩu voi: elephant seal.

Synonyms

• Chó biển: sea dog (a less common, more literal synonym).
• Hải tượng: (a literary/archaic term sometimes used for large seals like elephant seals).

Notes on Meaning

• The word "hải cẩu" is a compound noun from "hải" (sea) and "cẩu" (dog), literally meaning "sea dog". It specifically refers to the seal animal and is not used idiomatically for sailors (which is "lính thủy" or "thủy thủ").
• It is a general term. Specific types of seals have their own compound names, as listed in the variants section.

noun

1. sea-dog; seal