Definition

Noun: 1. A small, roundish object; a ball, a pebble, a pellet: A classifier for small, solid objects that are roughly spherical or form a compact mass. 2. A small island or islet: A geographical term for a small island, often rocky or isolated.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Small Object):
  • Trẻ con chơi với những hòn bi. (Children play with marbles.)
  • Cô ấy nhặt một hòn đá cuội bên bờ sông. (She picked up a pebble by the riverbank.)
  • Anh ấy ném một hòn tuyết. (He threw a snowball.)
• Noun (Small Island):
  • Chúng tôi đi thuyền ra Hòn Tằm. (We took a boat to Tam Islet.)
  • Hòn Đảo đó rất nổi tiếng với khách du lịch. (That island is very famous with tourists.)

Advanced Usage

• "hòn đảo": This is the full, standard term for "island". While "hòn" alone can mean islet, "hòn đảo" is more commonly used for islands of any significant size.
  • Việt Nam có nhiều hòn đảo đẹp. (Vietnam has many beautiful islands.)
• "hòn non bộ": Refers to the art of miniature mountain and landscape modeling, a traditional Vietnamese garden feature.
  • Trong sân có một hòn non bộ rất tinh xảo. (There is a very intricate miniature mountain landscape in the yard.)

Variants and Related Words

• Cục (n): A lump, a chunk. Often used for less spherical, more irregular masses (e.g., - a chunk of rock, - a lump of sugar). "Hòn" implies a more rounded shape.
• Viên (n): A pill, a tablet, a small round object. Used for manufactured spherical items (e.g., - a pill, - a marble). It is often interchangeable with "hòn" for marbles ().
• Đảo (n): Island. The core noun, often combined with "hòn" as a classifier.

Synonyms

• For small object: viên (pill, pellet), cục (lump, chunk – for less spherical shapes).
• For island: đảo (island), cù lao (small river islet).

Related Phrases and Idioms

• Hòn đất ném đi, hòn chì ném lại: An idiom meaning "tit for tat" or "an eye for an eye," literally "a clod of earth thrown away, a lump of lead thrown back."
• Vững như hòn đá: An idiom meaning "as solid/steadfast as a rock."

noun

1. ball; piece