Definition

1. Noun:
   • Roof: The structure that forms the top covering of a building. This is the primary and most common meaning.
   • House / Household (dialectal, metonymic): In some dialects and contexts, "nóc nhà" is used to refer to a house as a unit or a household, often when counting homes. This usage is less common in standard modern Vietnamese.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Roof):
  • Mưa rơi lộp độp trên nóc nhà. (Rain patters on the roof.)
  • Chim làm tổ trên nóc nhà. (Birds make a nest on the roof.)
• Noun (Household):
  • Làng này có khoảng một trăm nóc nhà. (This village has about one hundred houses.)

Advanced Usage

• The dialectal usage meaning "house" is often found in formal or literary contexts, such as in population statistics, historical descriptions, or poetry, to evoke a traditional or rural image.

Variants and Related Words

• Mái nhà (n): This is a more common synonym specifically for "roof," focusing on the sloped, covering structure.
  • Mái nhà lợp ngói đỏ. (The roof is tiled with red tiles.)
• Nhà (n): The general word for house, building, or home.
  • Nhà tôi ở gần công viên. (My house is near the park.)

Synonyms

• Roof: The top covering of a building.
• Household: A house and its occupants considered as a unit (for the dialectal sense).

Related Idioms

• Nóc nhà chung: Literally "common roof," a poetic or formal term for the homeland or the nation.
  • Bảo vệ nóc nhà chung của đất nước. (To protect the common homeland of the country.)