Definition

1. Verb:

   • To hitchhike, to get a lift: The act of traveling by obtaining a free ride in a vehicle driven by someone else, typically by standing at the roadside and signaling.
   • To cross by ferry (archaic): In older usage, it referred to crossing a river or body of water by ferry.

2. Noun:

   • Transverse beam (construction): A horizontal structural beam that spans from one wall or support to another, such as a joist or rafter in a building.

Usage Examples

• Verb (Modern usage):

  • Tôi không có xe, nên phải quá giang xe của bạn tôi về nhà. (I don't have a car, so I had to get a lift in my friend's car home.)
  • Anh ấy thường quá giang trên đường đi làm để tiết kiệm tiền xăng. (He often hitchhikes on his way to work to save on gas money.)

• Verb (Archaic usage):

  • Ngày xưa, muốn sang sông phải quá giang bằng đò. (In the old days, to cross the river, one had to cross by ferry.)

• Noun:

  • Các quá giang trong căn nhà cổ này được làm từ gỗ lim rất chắc chắn. (The transverse beams in this old house are made of very sturdy ironwood.)

Advanced Usage

• "Xin quá giang": To ask for a lift; to hitchhike.

  • Cô ấy đứng bên đường xin quá giang. (She stood by the roadside asking for a lift.)

• "Cho quá giang": To give someone a lift.

  • Anh tài xế tốt bụng đã cho tôi quá giang đến trung tâm thành phố. (The kind driver gave me a lift to the city center.)

Variants and Related Words

• Đi nhờ xe: A more common and modern phrase meaning "to get a ride" or "to hitch a ride". It is often used interchangeably with the verb sense of "quá giang".

  • Chúng tôi đi nhờ xe của hàng xóm. (We got a ride with our neighbor.)

• Quá độ (archaic): Another historical term for crossing a river, but less specific than "quá giang".

Synonyms

• Verb: Đi nhờ xe, đi ké xe (colloquial), bắt xe (informal for hitchhiking).
• Noun (construction): Rầm ngang, xà ngang, dầm ngang.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

Note: As a Vietnamese word, "quá giang" itself does not form phrasal verbs in the English sense. However, it is commonly used in specific verbal phrases. - Đi quá giang: To go by hitchhiking. - Họ quyết định đi quá giang vì hết tiền. (They decided to go hitchhiking because they ran out of money.)

Related Idioms

• "Quá giang" trong nghĩa bóng (figurative use): Sometimes used metaphorically to mean taking advantage of an opportunity or "riding on someone's coattails".
  • Công ty nhỏ đó đã quá giang thành công của đối tác lớn. (That small company hitched a ride on the success of its large partner.)

1. (xây dựng) Transversal beam
2. Get a lift, hitch-hike (Mỹ)
   • Xin quá giang
     To beg a lift