Definition

1. Verb:
   • To take a break, to stop for a short rest (during a journey): "Nghỉ chân" describes the action of pausing one's travel, typically on foot, to rest briefly before continuing.
   • To call a halt: It implies a deliberate, temporary stop in movement.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Sau ba giờ leo núi, chúng tôi quyết định nghỉ chân bên một con suối. (After three hours of hiking, we decided to take a break by a stream.)
  • Đoàn du khách nghỉ chân tại một quán trọ ven đường để ăn trưa. (The group of tourists stopped at a roadside inn for lunch.)
  • Hãy nghỉ chân một chút, chặng đường phía trước còn dài. (Let's stop for a short while; the road ahead is still long.)

Advanced Usage

• "Nghỉ chân tạm thời": to take a temporary break.
  • Chúng ta chỉ nghỉ chân tạm thời ở đây thôi. (We are only taking a temporary break here.)
• The phrase inherently suggests a pause during a longer journey or effort. It is not used for ending a trip permanently or for long-term rest.

Variants and Related Words

• Nghỉ ngơi (verb): to rest, to relax. (A more general term for resting, not necessarily during travel).
• Dừng chân (verb): to stop (one's steps). (Very similar in meaning and often interchangeable with "nghỉ chân," also implying a stop during travel).
• Điểm dừng chân (noun): a stopover, a resting point.

Synonyms

• Tạm dừng: to pause temporarily.
• Nghỉ tay (lit. "to rest hands"): to take a break from manual work. (Contextually different but shares the concept of a short rest).

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Nghỉ chân lấy sức: to take a break to regain strength.
  • Chúng ta nên nghỉ chân lấy sức trước khi tiếp tục leo lên đỉnh. (We should take a break to regain our strength before continuing to climb to the summit.)

Related Idioms

• "Đi một ngày đàng, học một sàng khôn": (Travel a day's journey, learn a basketful of wisdom). This proverb about the benefits of travel is conceptually related to the context in which one would "nghỉ chân."

1. Call a halt, stop for a short while (during a trip)
   • Ta hãy nghỉ chân vào quán uống chén nước
     Let's call a halt and go into an inn for a cup of tea