Definition

1. Verb:
   • To clear virgin land; to reclaim wasteland: The primary meaning of "phá hoang" is the agricultural act of clearing and preparing previously uncultivated, wild, or unused land to make it suitable for farming or settlement.
   • To pioneer; to break new ground: In a figurative sense, it can describe initiating a new, undeveloped field of work or activity.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Ông cha ta đã phá hoang vùng đất này để lập làng. (Our ancestors cleared this virgin land to establish the village.)
  • Nông dân phá hoang để tăng diện tích canh tác. (Farmers reclaim wasteland to expand the acreage under cultivation.)
  • Cô ấy là người phá hoang trong lĩnh vực nghiên cứu mới này. (She is the one breaking new ground in this new field of research.)

Advanced Usage

• The term often carries a connotation of hard work, transformation, and the initial struggle against nature to create productive land or opportunities.

Variants and Related Words

• Khai hoang (v): This is a near-synonym meaning to reclaim or pioneer virgin land. It is often used interchangeably with "phá hoang."
  • Chính sách khai hoang của nhà nước. (The state's land reclamation policy.)

Synonyms

• Reclaim: To bring wasteland into a condition suitable for cultivation.
• Clear: To remove trees and brush from land.
• Cultivate: To prepare and use land for crops.
• Pioneer: To be among the first to open or develop an area.

Related Idioms

• While "phá hoang" itself is not commonly part of a fixed idiom, the concept is central to phrases describing pioneering effort, such as the spirit of "khai phá" (to explore and develop).

1. Break (claim) virgin land
   • Phá hoang để tăng diện tích
     To claim virgin land and expand the acreage