Definition

1. Noun:
   • A carrying pole with its two balanced loads: The complete set consisting of a flexible bamboo pole (the carrying pole) and the two baskets or bundles suspended from its ends. It represents the traditional method of transporting goods balanced on the shoulder.
   • The burden or load carried this way: Can refer to the entire assembly (pole and loads) as a single unit of burden or responsibility.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Bà tôi một đời vất vả với đôi quang gánh. (My grandmother had a hard life with her carrying pole and baskets.)
  • Anh ấy đặt quang gánh xuống bên đường để nghỉ ngơi. (He set down his carrying pole and load by the roadside to rest.)
  • Quang gánh trên vai chị đầy ắp rau tươi. (The load on her pole was full of fresh vegetables.)

Advanced Usage

• Used metaphorically to symbolize burden, hardship, or traditional rural life.
  • Gánh nặng gia đình là đôi quang gánh trên vai mẹ. (The family's burden was the carrying pole on my mother's shoulders.)

Variants and Related Words

• Đòn gánh (n): The flexible bamboo or wood pole itself.

  • Chiếc đòn gánh được làm từ tre già. (The carrying pole is made from old bamboo.)

• Gánh (v/n): To carry on a pole; a load or a turn (e.g., in a performance).

  • Bà ấy gánh hàng ra chợ. (She carries goods to the market on a pole.)

Synonyms

• Carrying pole and baskets: The physical object.
• Load: The burden being carried.
• Yoke (figurative): A symbol of burden or labor.

Related Idioms

• Quẩy quang gánh: To shoulder the carrying pole; implies taking on a burden or starting a difficult journey.

  • Anh ấy quẩy quang gánh lên đường từ sáng sớm. (He shouldered his pole and set off early in the morning.)

• Đôi quang gánh quê hương: Evokes the image of traditional, rustic life and its inherent hardships.

  • Bài thơ gợi nhớ hình ảnh đôi quang gánh quê hương. (The poem recalls the image of the homeland's carrying pole.)