Definition

1. Noun:
   • Wild goose down: The soft, fine feathers from a wild goose, used historically as a poetic metaphor for extreme lightness.
   • A poetic/literary term: Used in classical Vietnamese literature to denote something of minimal weight or significance, often in proverbs or fixed expressions.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Nhẹ tựa hồng mao. (As light as wild goose down.)
  • Công danh đôi lúc nhẹ như hồng mao. (Fame and fortune can sometimes be as light as a feather.)

Advanced Usage

• This word is primarily found in classical or literary contexts and proverbs. It is rarely used in modern everyday conversation.
• It functions almost exclusively within the fixed comparative structure "nhẹ tựa/như hồng mao" (as light as wild goose down).

Variants and Related Words

• Lông vũ (n): Feathers in a general sense.
  • Chiếc gối làm bằng lông vũ. (The pillow is made of feathers.)
• Lông tơ (n): Down, soft fine feathers.
  • Áo khoác lông vũ có lớp lông tơ ấm bên trong. (The down jacket has a warm layer of down inside.)

Synonyms

• Goose down: The soft underfeathers of a goose.
• Feather: A general term for the light, growth covering a bird's body.

Related Idioms

• Nhẹ tựa hồng mao: (Idiom) As light as a feather; used to describe something with very little physical weight or metaphorical importance.
  • Gánh lo ấy giờ đã nhẹ tựa hồng mao. (That burden of worry is now as light as a feather.)

1. Wild goose down
   • Nhẹ tựa hồng mao
     As light as wild goose down, as light as a feather