Definition

Noun: 1. Horn: A hard, permanent, pointed growth on the head of certain animals, especially hoofed mammals like cattle, goats, or rhinoceroses. It is composed of keratin, the same material as human hair and nails. 2. Material made from horn: Any object or substance made from the hard growth of an animal's head, used historically for tools, ornaments, or utensils. 3. (Slang, vulgar) An act of infidelity; cuckoldry: A metaphorical and vulgar usage referring to a situation where one's partner is unfaithful. The imagery comes from the idea of a person "wearing horns" (being a cuckold).

Usage Examples

• Noun (Animal horn):
  • Con tê giác có một chiếc sừng rất lớn và sắc nhọn. (The rhinoceros has a very large and sharp horn.)
  • Những chiếc sừng của con bò đực trông thật uy nghi. (The bull's horns look very majestic.)
• Noun (Material):
  • Chiếc lược này được làm bằng sừng. (This comb is made of horn.)
  • Ngày xưa, người ta thường dùng sừng để làm tù và. (In the past, people often used horn to make bugles.)
• Noun (Slang: infidelity):
  • Anh ta bị vợ cắm sừng. (He was cheated on by his wife. / Literally: He had a horn planted by his wife.)

Advanced Usage

• "bị cắm sừng" / "mọc sừng": To be cheated on; to be a cuckold. This is a very common, though vulgar, idiom.
  • Hắn không biết mình đã bị cắm sừng. (He doesn't know he's been cheated on.)
• "trâu bò húc nhau, ruồi muỗi chết": A proverb meaning "When buffaloes fight, flies die," similar to "When elephants fight, the grass suffers." It uses the imagery of animals with horns fighting.

Variants and Related Words

• Sừng sững (adj): Standing tall and imposing; towering.
  • Tòa nhà sừng sững giữa trời. (The building towers against the sky.)
• Gạc (n): Antler (specifically the branched, deciduous horn of deer, which is shed annually).
• Ngà (n): Ivory (specifically the hard, white material from the tusks of elephants or walruses).

Synonyms

• For the animal part: Gạc (for deer antlers only).
• For the material: Chất sừng (keratinous substance).
• For the slang meaning: Bị phản bội (to be betrayed), bị cắm sừng (idiomatic).

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs / Common Collocations)

• Húc bằng sừng: To gore or butt with horns.
  • Con bò tót húc đối thủ bằng sừng. (The bull gored its opponent with its horns.)
• Đồ sừng: (Vulgar slang) A term for a cuckold.

Related Idioms

• "Cắm sừng" (cho ai): To cheat on (someone); to be unfaithful to a partner.
  • Nó đã cắm sừng bạn gái mình. (He cheated on his girlfriend.)
• "Mang sừng": To wear horns; to be a cuckold (same meaning as "bị cắm sừng").

noun

1. horn
   • sừng bò
     ox's horns