lấy giống
Definition
- 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.)