làm ruộng
Definition
- Verb phrase:
- To farm (rice) / to work the fields: The primary meaning of "làm ruộng" is to engage in agricultural work, specifically the cultivation of wet rice fields. It encompasses the entire cycle of preparing, planting, tending, and harvesting rice.
- To be a rice farmer: It can also describe the occupation or activity of being a farmer whose main work is rice cultivation.
Usage Examples
- Verb phrase:
- Ông bà tôi cả đời làm ruộng. (My grandparents were rice farmers their whole lives.)
- Công việc làm ruộng rất vất vả. (The work of farming rice is very hard.)
- Anh ấy trở về quê để làm ruộng. (He returned to his hometown to work the fields.)
Advanced Usage
- The phrase "làm ruộng" is deeply cultural, often evoking the traditional agrarian way of life in Vietnam. It implies a connection to the land and a specific set of skills related to wet-rice agriculture.
Variants and Related Words
Cày ruộng (v): to plow a field.
- Bác nông dân đang cày ruộng. (The farmer is plowing the field.)
Cấy lúa (v): to transplant rice seedlings.
- Mùa cấy lúa thường bắt đầu vào tháng Sáu. (The rice transplanting season usually starts in June.)
Synonyms
- To farm: to cultivate land and raise crops.
- To cultivate rice: to prepare and use land for rice growing.
- To work the land: to do agricultural labor.
Related Idioms and Expressions
"Một nắng hai sương" (literal: one sun, two dews): This idiom describes the hardship of farming life, toiling from early morning until night, and is closely associated with the work of "làm ruộng."
- Cuộc sống làm ruộng một nắng hai sương. (The life of a rice farmer is one of toiling in the sun and dew.)
"Bán mặt cho đất, bán lưng cho trời" (literal: sell your face to the earth, sell your back to the sky): Another vivid expression for the arduous, all-consuming nature of farming work.
- Người nông dân làm ruộng thực sự "bán mặt cho đất, bán lưng cho trời". (The rice farmer truly "sells his face to the earth and his back to the sky.")