Definition

1. Verb:
   • To look around, to look about oneself: "Nghênh" describes the action of turning one's head or eyes to look in various directions, often with a sense of surveying or observing one's surroundings.
   • To face, to confront (in a specific, often poetic, context): In certain fixed expressions, it can imply facing or being oriented towards something vast, like the sky or earth.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Anh ấy đứng trên đồi, nghênh nhìn bốn phía. (He stood on the hill, looking around in all directions.)
  • Câu tục ngữ "nghênh trời nghênh đất" miêu tả hành động ngước nhìn lên trời và nhìn xuống đất. (The proverb "nghênh trời nghênh đất" describes the action of looking up at the sky and down at the earth.)

Advanced Usage

• "nghênh trời nghênh đất": A fixed, idiomatic phrase meaning "to look up at the sky and down at the earth." It evokes an image of someone surveying the vastness of the world or being in an open, expansive space.
  • Đứng giữa cánh đồng mênh mông, tôi có cảm giác nghênh trời nghênh đất. (Standing in the vast field, I had the feeling of facing the sky and the earth.)

Variants and Related Words

• Nghênh ngang (adj/adv): This is a compound word meaning arrogant, haughty, or swaggering. It describes a manner of walking or behaving.
  • Hắn đi nghênh ngang giữa đường. (He swaggered down the middle of the road.)
• Nghênh tiếp (v): This is a compound word meaning to welcome, to receive (guests, a delegation).
  • Thị trưởng ra tận cửa nghênh tiếp đoàn khách. (The mayor went to the door to welcome the delegation of guests.)

Synonyms

• Nhìn quanh: to look around.
• Ngó nghiêng: to glance sideways, to look around (often furtively or curiously).
• Đối diện: to face, to be opposite (more general, less specific to the act of looking).

Notes on Usage

• The word "nghênh" is considered literary and is not commonly used in everyday modern spoken Vietnamese. It is most frequently encountered in classical literature, poetry, or in the fixed phrase "nghênh trời nghênh đất".
• Do not confuse the standalone word "nghênh" with the more common compound words "nghênh ngang" or "nghênh tiếp", which have distinct meanings.

1. Look round, look about one
   • Nghênh trời nghênh đất
     To look about one