rét lộc
Definition
- Noun:
- "Lộc" Cold Spell: A specific period of cold weather occurring in early spring, typically around the second lunar month (February in the solar calendar), often coinciding with the sprouting of new buds ("lộc" meaning "bud" or "auspicious growth").
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- Miền Bắc đang trải qua một đợt rét lộc. (The North is experiencing a lộc cold spell.)
- Rét lộc thường đến sau Tết Nguyên Đán. (The lộc cold spell usually comes after the Lunar New Year.)
Advanced Usage
- The term is a compound of "rét" (cold) and "lộc" (bud, new growth, fortune). It poetically describes the cold weather that persists even as plants begin to sprout in early spring, symbolizing the lingering chill of winter amidst new life.
Variants and Related Words
- Rét nàng Bân: Another folk name for a late cold spell in spring, often used interchangeably or sequentially with "rét lộc" in weather lore.
- Rét: (n) cold, cold weather.
- Lộc: (n) bud, sprout; also symbolically means prosperity or good fortune.
Synonyms
- Late spring cold spell: A period of unseasonably cold weather in early spring.
- Cold snap: A short period of cold weather.
Related Idioms/Phrases
- Rét lộc, rét nàng Bân: A common folk saying referring to the typical late cold spells of the Vietnamese spring.
- Tháng Hai vẫn còn phải đề phòng rét lộc, rét nàng Bân. (In February, one must still be wary of the lộc and nàng Bân cold spells.)