Definition

1. Verb phrase:
   • To breed / to mate (animals): The primary meaning refers to the intentional act of bringing a female animal to a male for the purpose of reproduction and obtaining offspring.
   • To obtain/propagate stock (plants or animals): The act of acquiring or cultivating a new plant or animal specimen with the intention of using it to produce and develop many more in the future.

Usage Examples

• Verb phrase:
  • Người nông dân đang lấy giống cho con bò cái. (The farmer is breeding the cow.)
  • Họ lấy giống lúa mới từ viện nghiên cứu. (They obtained the seed stock of a new rice variety from the research institute.)
  • Muốn nuôi gà, trước tiên phải đi lấy giống. (To raise chickens, you must first go acquire the breeding stock.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase is specific to agricultural, husbandry, and botanical contexts. It implies a purposeful, controlled action for propagation, not accidental reproduction.
• It can be used metaphorically in informal contexts to describe the origin or starting point of an idea or project, though this is less common.

Variants and Related Words

• Gây giống (v): to breed, to raise stock. Focuses on the ongoing process of breeding.
• Nhân giống (v): to propagate, to multiply stock. Focuses on the reproduction and increase in numbers.
• Giống (n): breed, strain, seed, variety. The foundational noun meaning "stock" or "breed."

Synonyms

• To breed: (for animals) to cause animals to produce offspring.
• To propagate: to cause a plant or animal to multiply.
• To obtain stock: to acquire specimens for breeding.

Related Idioms

• Lấy giống tốt: to obtain good breeding stock. Emphasizes the quality of the original specimen.
  • Trồng cây muốn tốt thì phải lấy giống tốt. (To grow good trees, you must obtain good stock.)