Definition

1. Verb:
   • To carry with a shoulder pole: The primary meaning of "quảy" is to transport a load by suspending it from both ends of a flexible pole (a shoulder pole or carrying pole) balanced across one's shoulder.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Người nông dân quảy hai thúng lúa về nhà. (The farmer carried two baskets of rice home with a shoulder pole.)
  • Ngày xưa, người ta thường quảy nước từ giếng làng. (In the past, people often carried water from the village well with a shoulder pole.)

Advanced Usage

• The word "quảy" is strongly associated with traditional methods of carrying goods, often in rural or historical contexts. It evokes an image of a specific physical posture and tool.
• It can be used figuratively to describe bearing a heavy, balanced burden.
  • Ông ấy quảy trên vai gánh nặng gia đình. (He carries the heavy burden of his family on his shoulders.)

Variants and Related Words

• Gánh (v/n): Often used interchangeably with "quảy" as a verb meaning "to carry with a shoulder pole." It is also a noun for the load itself or the act of carrying.
  • Bà ấy gánh rau ra chợ. (She carried vegetables to the market with a shoulder pole.)
• Quang gánh (n): The specific term for the flexible bamboo or wooden shoulder pole used for "quảy" or "gánh."
• Đòn gánh (n): Another term for the shoulder pole.

Synonyms

• Carry (with a pole): The most direct translation for the specific action.
• Tote: Can imply carrying a load, though not specifically with a pole.

Related Idioms

• Quảy gánh băng đồng: To carry a load across the fields. This idiom depicts a classic image of rural labor and travel.
• Gánh vác: To shoulder (responsibility, work). This is a more common modern figurative extension, using the related word "gánh" to mean undertaking a duty or burden.
  • Anh ấy biết gánh vác công việc gia đình. (He knows how to shoulder the family's work.)

verb

1. to carry with a shoulder pole; to carry on the end of a stick