Definition

1. Noun:
   • Jellyfish: A marine animal without a backbone, with a body shaped like an umbrella and trailing tentacles, often transparent or translucent.
   • Clappers (musical instrument): A traditional percussion instrument consisting of two slightly curved wooden pieces struck together to keep rhythm.
   • (Child's) Vomiting/Spitting up (dialectal, colloquial): Used to describe a baby regurgitating milk, often due to overfeeding.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Marine Animal):
  • Biển có nhiều sứa. (The sea has many jellyfish.)
  • Sứa có thể gây ngứa khi chạm vào. (Jellyfish can cause itching upon contact.)
• Noun (Musical Instrument):
  • Ông ấy gõ sứa để giữ nhịp cho dàn nhạc. (He claps the wooden clappers to keep time for the orchestra.)
• Verb (Dialectal):
  • Đứa bé bú no quá nên sứa ra hết. (The baby drank too much milk and spit it all up.)

Advanced Usage

• "Mặt sứa gan lim" (Idiomatic expression): Describes someone who appears gentle or soft (like a jellyfish) on the outside but is stubborn and hard (like ironwood) on the inside; obstinate, stubborn.
  • Đừng tưởng anh ấy hiền, thực ra mặt sứa gan lim đấy. (Don't think he's gentle; he's actually stubborn as a mule.)

Variants and Related Words

• Sứa lửa (Noun): A type of jellyfish that can cause a painful sting; often translated as "fire jellyfish" or specific types like the box jellyfish.
• Sứa rô (Noun): Another variety of edible jellyfish.
• Nước sứa (Noun, dialectal): The vomited/spit-up milk from a baby.

Synonyms

• Thủy tức (Noun, more scientific): Hydra; sometimes used loosely for simple jellyfish-like organisms.
• San hô (Noun): Coral; a different marine animal, but sometimes confused by learners.
• Trớ (Verb, standard): To spit up/vomit (used for babies).

Related Phrases

• Ăn sứa (Verb phrase): To eat jellyfish (often prepared in salads).
  • Gỏi sứa là một món ăn phổ biến. (Jellyfish salad is a common dish.)
• Bị sứa cắn/đốt (Verb phrase): To be stung by a jellyfish.
  • Tôi bị sứa đốt khi tắm biển. (I was stung by a jellyfish while swimming in the sea.)

Related Idioms

• "Mặt sứa gan lim": As explained in Advanced Usage, this idiom is the most common one directly using the word "sứa." It implies a contrast between a soft appearance and a hard, unyielding character.

noun

1. jelly-fish