Definition

1. Verb:
   • To leave one's native land; to be exiled from one's homeland: This term describes the act of departing from or being forced away from one's birthplace, ancestral home, or country of origin. It carries a strong connotation of sorrow, displacement, and a deep, often permanent, separation from one's roots.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Ông cụ đã phải ly hương từ khi còn rất trẻ. (The old man had to leave his native land when he was very young.)
  • Chiến tranh khiến hàng nghìn người dân ly hương. (The war caused thousands of people to be exiled from their homeland.)
  • Nỗi nhớ quê hương day dứt những kẻ ly hương. (Homesickness haunts those who have left their native land.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "ly hương" is often used in literary, historical, or formal contexts to evoke a profound sense of loss and nostalgia. It is more emotionally weighted than a simple phrase like "đi xa" (to go far away).

Variants and Related Words

• Kẻ ly hương / Người ly hương (n): An exile; a person who has left their homeland.

  • Cộng đồng người ly hương tại đây rất đoàn kết. (The community of exiles here is very united.)

• Ly tán (v): To be dispersed or scattered (often used with "ly hương" as "ly hương ly tán").

  • Gia đình họ ly hương ly tán khắp nơi trên thế giới. (Their family was exiled and scattered all over the world.)

Synonyms

• To be exiled: To be forced to live away from one's country.
• To leave one's homeland: A more direct descriptive phrase.
• To be displaced: Emphasizes being forced from one's home.

Related Idioms

• Ly hương cố thổ: To leave one's native village and old land. This phrase intensifies the sense of abandoning not just a country, but the very soil and local community one comes from.
  • Số phận của những người ly hương cố thổ thật đáng thương. (The fate of those who leave their native village and old land is truly pitiful.)

verb

1. to leave one's native land