kéo cày
Definition
- Verb:
- To pull a plow: The literal action of pulling a plow, typically done by draft animals like oxen or buffalo to prepare land for cultivation.
- (Figurative) To toil, to labor strenuously: To work extremely hard, often under difficult conditions, for a meager reward or out of obligation.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Con trâu đang kéo cày trên cánh đồng. (The buffalo is pulling a plow in the field.)
- Ông ấy phải kéo cày cả đời để nuôi sống gia đình. (He had to toil his entire life to support his family.)
Advanced Usage
- "Kéo cày trả nợ": A common figurative idiom meaning "to toil to repay a debt." It implies working very hard, often in a burdensome or seemingly endless manner, to settle an obligation.
- Sau khi kinh doanh thất bại, anh ta phải kéo cày trả nợ cho ngân hàng. (After his business failed, he had to toil to repay the bank.)
Variants and Related Words
- Cày (verb): To plow. This is the core action for which "kéo cày" provides the means.
- Kéo (verb): To pull, to drag. The general action of pulling.
- Lao động cực nhọc (verb phrase): To labor strenuously. A more formal synonym for the figurative meaning.
Synonyms
- Làm lụng vất vả: To work hard and suffer hardship.
- Cực nhọc: To undergo hardship and toil.
- Bán mặt cho đất, bán lưng cho trời (idiom): A vivid idiom describing backbreaking farm labor, similar in spirit to the figurative use of "kéo cày."
Related Idioms
- "Kéo cày trả nợ": As mentioned above, this is the primary and most fixed idiom associated with the term. It powerfully combines the literal image with the figurative meaning of burdensome labor for repayment.
- Gánh nặng nợ nần khiến họ phải kéo cày trả nợ nhiều năm. (The burden of debt forced them to toil in repayment for many years.)