Definition

1. Verb:
   • To clear (a mountain area, forest, etc.) of trees and vegetation for cultivation: "phát rẫy" describes the action of cutting down trees and clearing wild plants on a piece of land, typically on a hillside or forested area, to prepare it for slash-and-burn agriculture or to create a field for crops.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Người dân tộc thiểu số thường phát rẫy để trồng ngô và sắn. (Ethnic minority people often clear land for cultivation to grow corn and cassava.)
  • Phương thức canh tác phát rẫy đốt rừng không còn được khuyến khích. (The farming method of clearing and burning forest land is no longer encouraged.)
  • Ông ấy đã phát rẫy một mảnh đất trên núi để làm nương. (He cleared a piece of land on the mountain to make a swidden field.)

Advanced Usage

• "phát rẫy làm nương": to clear land to make a swidden/field.

  • Họ vào rừng phát rẫy làm nương mỗi mùa khô. (They go into the forest to clear land for a swidden every dry season.)

• "nương rẫy": This is a compound noun (listed here as a related concept) referring to the swidden field itself, the land cleared through "phát rẫy".

  • Sau khi phát rẫy, họ gieo hạt trên nương rẫy mới. (After clearing the land, they sow seeds on the new swidden.)

Variants and Related Words

• Phát quang (verb): to clear (an area of vegetation). This is a more general term for clearing brush/undergrowth, not specifically tied to agriculture.
• Làm rẫy (verb phrase): to practice swidden agriculture; to work on a swidden field. This encompasses the entire activity, including "phát rẫy".
• Đốt rẫy (verb phrase): to burn the cleared land (a common step after "phát rẫy" in traditional methods).
• Rẫy (noun): swidden, slash-and-burn field. The result of the action "phát rẫy".

Synonyms

• Khai hoang (verb): to reclaim wasteland for cultivation. This can be broader and may involve different landscapes, not exclusively forested hills.
• Phát cây (verb): to cut down trees/plants. A simpler, more direct term for the cutting action.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Phát rẫy đốt rừng: to clear and burn forest (for cultivation). This phrase describes the traditional cycle.
  • Hành vi phát rẫy đốt rừng bừa bãi gây hại cho môi trường. (The indiscriminate practice of clearing and burning forest is harmful to the environment.)

Related Idioms

1. Clear (moutain area ...) of trees for cultivation