Definition

Noun: 1. Mason bee, wall bee: A type of insect resembling a bee, with a slender waist, known for building nests from mud or clay. 2. Arch, vault (archaic/architectural): A curved, often arched, architectural structure. This meaning is now rare and primarily found in classical literature or specific compound terms.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Insect):
  • Tổ tò vò thường được làm bằng đất. (A mason bee's nest is usually made from mud.)
  • Con tò vò đang tha sâu về tổ. (The wall bee is carrying a caterpillar back to its nest.)
• Noun (Architecture - rare):
  • Cổng tò vò is a classical term for a vaulted gate or arched doorway.

Advanced Usage

• The insect is often referenced in Vietnamese folk sayings and idioms to illustrate themes of hard work, futility, or instinctive behavior.
• The architectural meaning is largely obsolete in modern spoken language but may appear in poetry, historical texts, or in the fixed compound (vaulted door).

Variants and Related Words

• Tổ tò vò (n): Mason bee's nest, mud nest.
  • Những tổ tò vò bám dưới mái hiên. (The mason bee nests clinging under the eaves.)
• Cửa tò vò (n): Vaulted door/archway (architectural term).

Synonyms

• Ong đất (n): Literally "earth bee," a common alternative name for the insect.
• Vòm (n): Arch, vault (for the architectural meaning).

Idioms and Proverbs

• Tò vò mà nuôi con nhện, đến khi nó lớn nó quyện nhau đi: Literally "The mason bee raises a spider, when it grows up, it wraps around and leaves." This proverb warns about raising or nurturing someone who will ultimately betray or harm you, similar to the English idiom "to nurse a viper in one's bosom." It references the mason bee's behavior of paralyzing and storing spiders or caterpillars as food for its larvae.

noun

1. mason bee, wall bee arch