Definition

1. Noun:
   • Grains and rice: A compound noun referring collectively to unhusked rice ("thóc") and husked, edible rice ("gạo"). It broadly signifies staple food grains, particularly rice as the primary food supply.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Nhà nông thu hoạch được nhiều thóc gạo. (The farming family harvested a lot of grains and rice.)
  • Kho thóc gạo đầy ắp. (The granary is full of grains and rice.)
  • Chiến tranh gây ra tình trạng thiếu thóc gạo. (The war caused a shortage of staple grains.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is often used in a general, collective sense to represent the most basic and essential food resources, similar to "the daily bread" in English. It emphasizes sustenance and survival.
  • Lo cái ăn cái mặc, trước hết là thóc gạo. (Worrying about food and clothing, first and foremost is about staple grains.)

Variants and Related Words

• Lương thực (n): foodstuffs, provisions. A more formal and broader term for food supplies.

  • Dự trữ lương thực cho mùa đông. (Store up food provisions for winter.)

• Ngũ cốc (n): cereals, grains. Refers to the five main grains (rice, wheat, millet, etc.) or cereals in general.

  • Ngũ cốc là nguồn dinh dưỡng quan trọng. (Cereals are an important source of nutrition.)

Synonyms

• Staple grains: Primary food crops.
• Rice and paddy: Specifically for the rice plant and its edible seed.
• Food supply: The available stock of food.

Related Idioms

• Được mùa thóc gạo: To have a bumper harvest of grains.

  • Năm nay được mùa thóc gạo, nhà nào cũng vui. (This year there's a bumper grain harvest, every household is happy.)

• Thóc cao gạo kém: Literally "unhusked rice is expensive, husked rice is scarce". An idiom describing a period of grain shortage and high food prices.

  • Thời kỳ thóc cao gạo kém, đời sống rất khó khăn. (During the time of grain scarcity and high prices, life was very difficult.)

noun

1. grains and rice