Definition

1. Noun:

   • Otter: An abbreviation of "rái cá," referring to a semi-aquatic mammal known for its swimming ability.
   • (Archaic/Rare) Fear, dread: An old or less common usage meaning a state of being frightened or scared.

2. Adjective:

   • Frightened, scared: Describes a state of fear or apprehension.
   • Deterred, having given up: Describes the state of being so discouraged by a past negative experience that one avoids a similar action entirely.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • Con sông này có nhiều rái. (This river has many otters.)
  • Anh ấy bơi nhanh như rái. (He swims as fast as an otter.)

• Adjective:

  • Sau lần thất bại đó, anh ta rái không dám đầu tư nữa. (After that failure, he was deterred and didn't dare to invest anymore.)
  • Câu chuyện ma làm lũ trẻ rái. (The ghost story made the children frightened.)

Advanced Usage

• "Lội như rái": To swim like an otter (i.e., to swim very well and swiftly).

  • Cậu bé lớn lên bên sông nên lội như rái. (The boy grew up by the river so he swims like an otter.)

• "Phải một lần, rái đến già" (proverb): To meet with one failure/scare and be deterred for life; to be once bitten, twice shy.

  • Đừng vì một lần thất bại mà "phải một lần, rái đến già". (Don't let one failure make you "once bitten, twice shy".)

Variants and Related Words

• Rái cá (n): Otter. This is the full, more common term.

  • Rái cá là loài thú ăn thịt sống dưới nước. (The otter is a carnivorous mammal that lives in water.)

• Sợ rái (v, colloquial): To be scared, to be afraid. An expression using "rái" to intensify the meaning of fear.

  • Nghe tiếng động lạ, nó sợ rái bỏ chạy. (Hearing a strange noise, he got scared and ran away.)

Synonyms

• Sợ hãi (v/n): To fear, fear.
• Khiếp sợ (v/n): To dread, terror.
• Nhái (n, regional): Another regional or colloquial term for otter.

Related Idioms and Proverbs

• "Khôn cho người ta rái, dại cho người ta thương" (proverb): To be so wise/cunning that people are frightened of you, to be so foolish/naive that people pity you.
  • Câu tục ngữ "Khôn cho người ta rái, dại cho người ta thương" khuyên ta nên sống vừa phải. (The proverb advises us to live a balanced life.)

Notes on Usage

• The primary modern meaning of "rái" is as a short form for "rái cá" (otter), especially in similes describing excellent swimming.
• The meanings related to fear or being deterred are considered older, more literary, or used primarily in fixed proverbial expressions. In everyday modern speech, words like "sợ" are more common for "to fear."
• When used as an adjective meaning "deterred," it often implies a lasting psychological effect from a single bad experience.

1. rái cá (nói tắt)
   • Lội như rái
     To swim like an otter, to swim like a fish.
2. (ít dùng) Be frightened
   • Khôn cho người ta rái, dại cho người ta thương (tục ngữ)
     To be so wise that people are frightened by one, to be so foolish that people pity one
3. Give up, dread
   • Phải một lần, rái đến già (tục ngữ)
     To meet with one failure but will dread it until the end of one's life