hải hà
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- Sea and river: A classical Sino-Vietnamese compound word literally meaning "sea and river," used metaphorically to describe something vast, immense, or boundless in scope.
- Magnanimity, great generosity: The primary figurative meaning, referring to a person's immense, all-encompassing tolerance and generosity of spirit, as vast as the sea and rivers.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Lòng khoan dung của ông ấy rộng như hải hà. (His forgiveness is as vast as the sea and rivers.)
- Vị lãnh đạo ấy nổi tiếng với lượng hải hà. (That leader is famous for his magnanimity.)
Advanced Usage
- "Lượng hải hà": This is the most common fixed phrase. It directly translates to "a measure/volume like the sea and rivers" and is used exclusively to praise someone's great generosity, forbearance, or magnanimous character.
- Chỉ có người có lượng hải hà mới có thể tha thứ cho lỗi lầm lớn như vậy. (Only a person of great magnanimity can forgive such a major mistake.)
Variants and Related Words
- Khoan dung (adj/n): Tolerant, lenient; tolerance. (A more common, modern synonym for the quality of being forgiving.)
- Rộng lượng (adj): Generous, big-hearted. (A common synonym for generosity of spirit.)
- Bao dung (adj/n): Tolerant, forgiving; forbearance. (Another close synonym emphasizing acceptance.)
Synonyms
- Magnanimity: The quality of being generous and forgiving, especially toward a rival or someone less powerful.
- Generosity: The quality of being kind and generous.
- Vastness: (For the literal sense) The quality of being very large or immense.
Notes on Usage
- Register: This is a literary, formal, and somewhat classical term. It is rarely used in everyday spoken Vietnamese and is most commonly found in writing, literature, historical contexts, or formal speeches.
- Fixed Phrase: The word is almost always used in the set phrase "lượng hải hà". Using alone is very rare in modern Vietnamese.
- Figurative Use: In contemporary usage, the literal meaning ("sea and river") is virtually obsolete. The word is understood almost exclusively in its figurative sense describing a noble human quality.
noun
- sea and river (fig) generosity
- Lượng hải hàMagnanimity