Definition

1. Verb:

   • To make dó paper (traditional Vietnamese paper): The process of pouring paper pulp into a mold and shaking it to form a sheet of "giấy bản" (a type of traditional paper).
   • To pucker, to contract, to wrinkle (of skin): To become tight, shriveled, or wrinkled, often due to drying, scarring, or aging.

2. Noun:

   • Arched tail feather (of a rooster): A long, curved quill feather from a rooster's tail. (Note: This meaning is less common and often appears in the compound form "lông seo").

Usage Examples

• Verb (to make paper):

  • Người thợ đang seo giấy. (The artisan is making dó paper.)
  • Công đoạn seo giấy rất quan trọng. (The paper-forming stage is very important.)

• Verb (to pucker/contract):

  • Vết thương lành khiến da seo lại. (The healing wound caused the skin to pucker.)
  • Trời lạnh làm da mặt tôi seo lại. (The cold weather made my facial skin tighten.)

• Noun (feather):

  • Con gà trống có bộ lông seo rất đẹp. (The rooster has very beautiful arched tail feathers.)

Advanced Usage

• "seo giấy": This is the standard phrase for the traditional craft of making dó paper by hand using a mold and frame.
  • Nghề seo giấy thủ công đang dần mai một. (The traditional craft of hand-papermaking is gradually fading.)

Variants and Related Words

• Lông seo (noun phrase): Arched tail feather(s) of a rooster.
• Seo lại (verb phrase): To pucker up, to contract, to shrivel.
• Da seo (noun phrase): Puckered or contracted skin.

Synonyms

• Verb (to make paper): Làm giấy (to make paper) – but "seo" is the specific technical term for the traditional method.
• Verb (to pucker): Co lại (to shrink), Nhăn lại (to wrinkle), Rúm lại (to shrivel).

Notes on Different Meanings

The word "seo" has two distinct primary meanings that are not related: 1. A specific verb related to traditional papermaking craftsmanship. 2. A verb/adjective describing the state of skin or a surface contracting or puckering, often used in the phrase "seo lại." 3. The noun meaning (tail feather) is archaic and rarely used in modern Vietnamese outside of the compound "lông seo."

1. Arched quill-feather (of a cock). xem xeo