Definition

1. Noun:
   • A small, slender stick or rod: "que" refers to a thin, often short, piece of wood, bamboo, or other material.
   • A matchstick: Specifically, "que" can mean a single matchstick.
   • A thin rod or stick used for a specific purpose: It can denote a small stick used as a tool, for example, in divination or as a skewer.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Cô ấy nhặt một que củi khô. (She picked up a dry twig.)
  • Anh ấy quẹt một que diêm. (He struck a matchstick.)
  • Que sắt dùng để xiên thịt nướng. (The iron rod is used to skewer barbecue meat.)

Advanced Usage

• "que cời": a small stick used for poking or stoking a fire.

  • Dùng que cời để bếp cháy đều hơn. (Use a fire poker to make the stove burn more evenly.)

• "phép bói que": rhabdomancy (divination using rods or sticks).

  • Phép bói que là một hình thức bói toán cổ xưa. (Rhabdomancy is an ancient form of divination.)

Variants and Related Words

• Que diêm (n): matchstick.

  • Hộp que diêm (a box of matches).

• Que kem (n): ice cream stick, popsicle stick.

  • Thu thập que kem để làm thủ công. (Collect popsicle sticks for crafts.)

• Que tính (n): counting rod (used in traditional arithmetic).

  • Trẻ em ngày xưa học tính bằng que tính. (Children in the old days learned arithmetic with counting rods.)

Synonyms

• Cái que: the stick (a more general, colloquial form).
• Thanh: rod, bar (often implies something longer, sturdier, or more uniform).
• Cọng: stem, stalk (typically for plants; thinner and more flexible).

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Chọc que: to poke with a stick.

  • Đừng chọc que vào tổ ong. (Don't poke a stick into the beehive.)

• Xiên que: to skewer on a stick.

  • Xiên que thịt lại trước khi nướng. (Skewer the meat on sticks before grilling.)

Related Idioms

• Như que củi khô: (as dry as a stick) - used to describe something very dry or someone very thin.

  • Cánh đồng sau hạn hán khô như que củi. (The field after the drought is as dry as a stick.)

• Chuyện bé xé ra to (literally: a small matter split into a big one) - Sometimes implied with "chuyện cái que" (a matter of a stick) to mean making a mountain out of a molehill.

  • Đừng biến chuyện cái que thành chuyện cái đình. (Don't turn a stick matter into a communal house matter – i.e., don't make a big deal out of nothing.)

noun

1. stick
   • que diêm
     a match stick