lèo
Definition
- Noun:
- A savory broth or sauce: A seasoned, often meat-based, liquid broth or sauce poured over noodles (like bún or mì) when eating.
- A continuous stretch or streak: An unbroken sequence, a single continuous period or action.
- (Archaic) A prize or award: A decorative streamer or sash given as a prize in historical competitions, like in scholarly exams.
- (Nautical) A sheet (rope): A rope used to control the angle of a sail relative to the wind on a boat.
- A kite string: The string attached to a kite, used to control and balance it.
- (Architecture) A decorative wooden frieze: A carved wooden border used to decorate the front of a cabinet or a traditional platform bed (sập).
Usage Examples
- Noun (Broth/Sauce):
- Bún chả ăn kèm với nước lèo. (Grilled pork with noodles is eaten with a dipping broth.)
- Noun (Continuous stretch):
- Anh ấy đọc một lèo hết cả cuốn sách. (He read the entire book in one go.)
- Noun (Nautical rope):
- Người thủy thủ giữ chặt lèo buồm. (The sailor held the sail sheet tightly.)
Advanced Usage
- "một lèo": (as an adverbial phrase) in one go, in a single continuous stretch.
- Cô ấy viết báo cáo một lèo từ sáng đến tối. (She wrote the report in one stretch from morning until evening.)
- "giật lèo": (historical/idiomatic) to win the top prize (e.g., to come first in the imperial exams).
- Trong truyện cổ, chàng trai nghèo đã giật lèo trạng nguyên. (In the folktale, the poor young man won first place in the royal exams.)
Variants and Related Words
- Nước lèo (n): Broth, soup base. This is a common compound specifying the liquid food meaning.
- Nước lèo bún cá rất thơm. (The fish noodle broth is very fragrant.)
Synonyms
- Broth/Sauce: stock, dipping sauce.
- Continuous stretch: streak, stretch, marathon (session).
- Prize: award, sash, streamer.
- Rope (nautical): sheet, line.
Related Idioms
- Giật lèo trạng nguyên: To come first in the imperial examinations; to achieve the highest honor in a scholarly contest (historical idiom).
- Làm một lèo: To do something in one fell swoop, without stopping.