Definition

1. Noun:
   • Ditch, channel: A long, narrow excavation in the ground, typically used for drainage, irrigation, or as a boundary marker. In an agricultural context, it specifically refers to a channel dug to bring water into fields.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Nông dân đào mương để dẫn nước vào ruộng lúa. (Farmers dig a ditch to channel water into the rice field.)
  • Con mương nhỏ chạy dọc theo con đường làng. (A small ditch runs along the village road.)
  • Nước trong mương chảy rất nhanh sau cơn mưa. (The water in the ditch flows very fast after the rain.)

Advanced Usage

• "mương máng": A compound term referring to a system of ditches and channels for irrigation.
  • Hệ thống mương máng ở đây rất phức tạp. (The system of irrigation channels here is very complex.)
• "đào mương": To dig a ditch.
  • Công việc chính của họ là đào mương. (Their main job is to dig ditches.)

Variants and Related Words

• Rãnh (n): A smaller groove or furrow, often shallower than a "mương".
  • Nước mưa chảy theo các rãnh trên đường. (Rainwater flows along the grooves in the road.)
• Kênh (n): A larger canal or channel, typically wider and more significant than a "mương".
  • Kênh đào này nối liền hai con sông. (This canal connects two rivers.)
• Máng (n): A trough or conduit, often man-made, for guiding water.
  • Máng nước bằng tre. (A bamboo water trough.)

Synonyms

• Drain: A channel for carrying off surplus water or liquid waste.
• Trench: A long, narrow ditch, often deeper and used for drainage or military purposes.
• Watercourse: A natural or artificial channel through which water flows.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Khơi thông mương: To dredge or clear out a ditch.
  • Họ đang khơi thông mương để tránh ngập lụt. (They are dredging the ditch to prevent flooding.)
• Đắp mương: To build or reinforce the banks of a ditch.
  • Cần phải đắp mương cho chắc chắn. (We need to reinforce the ditch banks firmly.)

Related Idioms

• "Nước đổ đầu mương": (Lit: Water poured onto the head of the ditch). Used to describe a situation where something is directed to the right place or person, perfectly suited.
  • Giao việc này cho anh ấy đúng là nước đổ đầu mương. (Assigning this task to him is like water finding its channel—it's a perfect fit.)
• "Lòng mương": (Lit: The bed/heart of the ditch). Can be used metaphorically to refer to the core or deepest part of something.
  • Anh ta đã đi xuống tận lòng mương để tìm chiếc nhẫn. (He went down to the very bottom of the ditch to find the ring.)

1. Ditch