Definition

1. Verb:

   • To collect / to gather: To bring things together into one place, often referring to money, taxes, or resources.
   • To take in / to absorb: To receive or incorporate something, such as information or light.

2. Noun (archaic/poetic):

   • Autumn / Fall: The third season of the year, following summer and preceding winter. This is a phonetic variant of "thu."
   • Year (archaic/poetic): Used in classical poetry to signify a year or a period of time.

3. Adverb:

   • Throughout / the whole (of a period): From the beginning to the end of a specified duration of time.

Usage Examples

• Verb:

  • Chính phủ thâu thuế. (The government collects taxes.)
  • Vật liệu này thâu ánh sáng rất tốt. (This material absorbs light very well.)

• Noun:

  • Trời thâu mát mẻ. (The autumn weather is cool.)
  • Đã ba thâu chẳng thấy tin. (Three years have passed without news.)

• Adverb:

  • Cô ấy thức thâu đêm để học. (She stayed awake throughout the night to study.)

Advanced Usage

• "thâu tóm": to monopolize, to bring under one's control.

  • Công ty đó thâu tóm thị trường. (That company monopolizes the market.)

• "thâu nhập": to incorporate, to merge in.

  • Họ thâu nhập nhiều ý kiến vào báo cáo. (They incorporated many opinions into the report.)

Variants and Related Words

• Thu (n): The standard modern word for "autumn."

  • Mùa thu Hà Nội rất đẹp. (Hanoi's autumn is very beautiful.)

• Thu (v): The standard modern verb for "to collect."

  • Thu tiền điện. (To collect electricity payments.)

Synonyms

• Collect: to gather items together.
• Absorb: to take in or soak up.
• Autumn: the season.
• Throughout: all through a period of time.

Related Idioms

• Thâu đêm suốt sáng: all night and into the morning; to work or stay awake continuously.

  • Anh ấy làm việc thâu đêm suốt sáng. (He worked all night and into the morning.)

• Thâu tóm địa bàn: to take control of an area or territory.

  • Băng nhóm đó muốn thâu tóm địa bàn. (That gang wants to take control of the territory.)