Definition

1. Noun:
   • Fuse, primer, match: A device or material used to ignite an explosive charge or firework.
   • Canal, arroyo, small stream: A small, natural or artificial water channel.
   • Stinger: The sharp, venom-injecting organ of an insect like a bee or wasp.
   • Core (of a boil): The hard, central core of pus in a boil or abscess.
   • Germ, seed (figurative): The origin, beginning, or incipient stage of something (often an idea, movement, or conflict).

Usage Examples

• Fuse/Primer:
  • Anh ấy châm ngòi cho quả pháo. (He lit the fuse of the firecracker.)
  • Ngòi nổ của quả mìn đã bị hỏng. (The mine's primer was defective.)
• Canal/Stream:
  • Con ngòi nhỏ chảy qua cuối làng. (A small stream flows past the end of the village.)
  • Họ đào một con ngòi để dẫn nước vào đồng. (They dug a canal to channel water into the field.)
• Stinger:
  • Con ong đã để lại ngòi trên da cô ấy. (The bee left its stinger in her skin.)
• Core (of a boil):
  • Cái nhọt đã có ngòi. (The boil has formed a core.)
• Germ/Seed (figurative):
  • Sự kiện đó là ngòi nổ cho cuộc chiến. (That event was the spark that ignited the war.)
  • Họ gieo ngòi bất hòa giữa hai anh em. (They sowed the seeds of discord between the two brothers.)

Advanced Usage

• Ngòi bút: Literally "pen nib" or "pen point". This is a fixed compound noun referring to the writing instrument itself or, more poetically, to the act or power of writing.
  • Nhà văn ấy có ngòi bút sắc sảo. (That writer has a sharp pen / a sharp writing style.)
• Ngòi nổ chậm: A specific type of fuse: a delay fuse or time fuse.
• Ngòi cách mạng: The germ/seed of revolution.
• Ngòi chia rẽ: The seed of division.

Variants and Related Words

• Mồi lửa: A synonym for in the context of a fuse or igniter.
• Kênh, mương: Words for "canal" or "ditch", similar to but often larger () or specifically for irrigation ().
• Nọc: Venom, poison (related to the stinger's function).
• Mầm mống: A direct synonym for in its figurative sense of "germ, seed, origin".

Synonyms

• For fuse/primer: Kíp nổ (blasting cap), mồi lửa.
• For canal/stream: Lạch, kênh nhỏ, mương.
• For germ/seed (figurative): Mầm mống, nguyên nhân khởi đầu, tác nhân.

Related Phrases/Idioms

• Châm ngòi (cho): To ignite the fuse (of), to trigger, to spark (an event, conflict). This is the most common idiomatic use.
  • Bài báo đó đã châm ngòi cho một cuộc tranh luận lớn. (That article sparked a major debate.)
• Thiên lôi liền ngòi: An idiom describing a situation that is extremely tense and ready to explode at any moment (like thunder connected directly to its fuse).

noun

1. canal; arroyo

noun

1. primer; fuse; match
   • ngòi nổ chậm
     delay fuse