Definition

Noun: A hầm trú ẩn is an underground shelter or dugout, typically excavated into the ground, designed to protect people from bombardments, artillery fire, or other aerial attacks during wartime.

Usage Examples

• During the war, every family dug a hầm trú ẩn in their garden.
• The sound of sirens sent everyone rushing to the hầm trú ẩn.
• The old hầm trú ẩn from the conflict has been preserved as a historical site.

Advanced Usage

• The term specifically connotes a makeshift or civilian-built protective pit, often associated with periods of intense conflict like the Vietnam War. It is distinct from more permanent military bunkers or modern public fallout shelters.

Variants and Related Words

• Hầm tránh bom (n): Bomb shelter. A direct synonym.
• Hầm (n): Can mean cellar or basement, but in a wartime context, it is often understood as a shorthand for "hầm trú ẩn."
• Công sự (n): Fortification or entrenchment; a broader military term for defensive structures.

Synonyms

• Dugout
• Bomb shelter
• Air-raid shelter
• Underground refuge

Related Idioms

• Chui hầm: Literally "to crawl into a shelter." Used to describe the action of taking cover from an attack. It can also colloquially imply hiding from responsibilities or an unpleasant situation.
  • Whenever the argument starts, he just "chui hầm" and says nothing.

noun

1. shelter-pit; dug-out