kéo bễ
Definition
- Verb:
- To operate a bellows: The action of working a bellows, typically by pulling and pushing its handles, to blow air onto a fire, especially in a forge or furnace, to make it burn more intensely.
- To stoke a fire using a bellows: More specifically, to use a bellows to increase the air supply to a fire, causing it to become hotter and brighter.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Người thợ rèn đang kéo bễ để lửa trong lò cháy đỏ hơn. (The blacksmith is operating the bellows to make the fire in the forge burn redder.)
- Muốn luyện sắt, trước tiên phải kéo bễ cho ngọn lửa thật mạnh. (To smelt iron, you must first work the bellows to make the flame very strong.)
Advanced Usage
- This term is highly specific to traditional crafts like blacksmithing and metallurgy. It describes a precise, manual action essential in pre-industrial and artisanal contexts.
- It can be used metaphorically in literature or speech to describe vigorously encouraging or intensifying a situation, similar to "fanning the flames," though this is a figurative extension.
Variants and Related Words
- Bễ (Noun): Bellows. The tool itself.
- Cái bễ của lò rèn. (The forge's bellows.)
- Thổi bễ (Verb Phrase): Another phrase meaning to operate a bellows; to blow using a bellows.
Synonyms
- Thổi lửa: To blow on a fire (can be more general, not necessarily using a bellows).
- Làm bùng lửa: To make a fire blaze up.
Related Phrases (if applicable)
- Kéo bễ nấu sắt: To work the bellows for smelting iron. This phrase emphasizes the purpose of the action.
- Kéo bễ rèn dao: To work the bellows for forging a knife. This specifies the crafting context.
Related Idioms
- While "kéo bễ" itself is not a common idiom, the action is conceptually linked to the idea of adding fuel to the fire or intensifying an effort. A related Vietnamese expression is "thêm dầu vào lửa" (to add oil to the fire), which means to worsen a conflict or intensify a heated situation.