Definition

1. Noun:
   • Labor pain, childbirth pain: "nau" specifically refers to the pain experienced during childbirth.
   • (Figurative) Pain, suffering, anguish: In a broader, often literary sense, "nau" can refer to intense pain or deep suffering, especially of an emotional or spiritual nature.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Cô ấy đang trải qua cơn đau nau. (She is experiencing labor pains.)
  • Tử sinh kinh cụ làm nau mấy lần. (The fears of life and death have caused suffering many times.)

Advanced Usage

• "đau nau": This is the most common collocation, meaning "to be in labor pain" or "to experience the pain of childbirth."
  • Người phụ nữ ấy đang đau nau trong phòng sinh. (That woman is in labor pain in the delivery room.)

Variants and Related Words

• Đau đẻ (phrase): A more common, modern synonym for "labor pain."
  • Cô ấy nhập viện vì đau đẻ. (She was hospitalized due to labor pains.)

Synonyms

• Cơn đau chuyển dạ (phrase): Labor contraction pain.
• Sự đau đớn (phrase): Pain, suffering (general).
• Nỗi thống khổ (phrase): Agony, torment (literary).

Notes on Usage

• Register: The word "nau" is considered literary and somewhat archaic in modern Vietnamese. In everyday conversation, phrases like "đau đẻ" or "chuyển dạ" are more commonly used to discuss childbirth.
• Context: When used, it almost always appears in the fixed phrase "đau nau". Its figurative use to mean general suffering is found primarily in classical poetry and older literary texts.

1. xem đau nau