Definition

1. Noun:

   • Malaria (folk term): "ngã nước" refers to the disease malaria, according to folk terminology. It often describes the illness one gets when moving to or living in an unhealthy, marshy region.
   • Sickness in livestock (folk veterinary term): In folk veterinary contexts, "ngã nước" can describe ailments like sores, scabies, or general sickness in buffalo and cattle when they are moved from the highlands to the lowlands.

2. Verb phrase (to suffer from 'ngã nước'):

   • To catch malaria: The action of contracting malaria, especially associated with settling in an unhealthy, damp climate.
   • (For livestock) to fall sick after relocation: For buffalo or cattle to become ill with characteristic symptoms after being moved from mountainous areas to the plains.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • Ông ấy bị ngã nước sau khi đến vùng rừng núi. (He suffered from malaria after coming to the mountainous region.)
  • Con trâu mới mua về bị ngã nước. (The newly bought buffalo is suffering from 'ngã nước' [sickness after relocation].)

• Verb phrase:

  • Nhiều người đi khai hoang đã ngã nước. (Many people who went to reclaim land caught malaria.)
  • Phải cẩn thận kẻo trâu ngã nước. (Be careful, or the buffalo will get sick [after moving to the new area].)

Advanced Usage

• This term is considered archaic or folkloric in modern Vietnamese. In contemporary medical or everyday contexts, "sốt rét" is the standard term for malaria.
• The term carries a historical connotation, often linked to the settlement of new, undeveloped lands (like the Mekong Delta in the past) where malaria was a common risk.

Variants and Related Words

• Sốt rét (n): The standard modern term for malaria.
• Cảm nắng, cảm lạnh (n): Other folk terms for illnesses thought to be caused by environmental factors ("sunstroke," "common cold").

Synonyms

• Bị sốt rét: To have malaria (modern equivalent).
• Mắc bệnh sốt rét: To contract malaria (modern equivalent).

Related Idioms/Phrases

• Ngã bệnh: A more general term meaning "to fall ill."
• Xuống nước: Literally "to go down into the water"; can sometimes be used in a similar folk context for falling ill after exposure, but this is rare and not standard. The primary and specific term is ngã nước.

1. to suffer from malaria