tiểu
Definition
Verb:
- To urinate: The primary meaning of "tiểu" is to pass urine from the body. This is the short form of "tiểu tiện".
Noun:
- A young Buddhist novice: A boy or young man who has entered a Buddhist monastery for training and service.
- A small ceramic jar: Specifically, a jar used to hold the bones of the deceased during reburial (a practice in some traditions).
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Đứa bé cần đi tiểu. (The child needs to urinate.)
- Noun (novice):
- Chú tiểu đang quét sân chùa. (The young novice is sweeping the temple courtyard.)
- Noun (jar):
- Cốt được đặt vào trong tiểu. (The bones are placed into the ceramic jar.)
Advanced Usage
- "tiểu tiện": This is the full, formal term for urination.
- Rối loạn tiểu tiện. (Urination disorder.)
- "tiểu bậy" / "tiểu bừa": To urinate indiscriminately or in public.
- Không được tiểu bậy ra đường phố. (Do not urinate on the street.)
Variants and Related Words
- Tiểu học (n): Primary education, elementary school. (Note: Here "tiểu" means "small" or "primary", a different but common usage).
- Tiểu sử (n): Biography. (Note: Here "tiểu" means "small details").
- Tiểu đường (n): Diabetes (literally "sugar urine").
- Nước tiểu (n): Urine.
Synonyms
- Urinate: to pass urine.
- Novice: a person new to and learning a subject or religion.
- Ossuary jar: a container for bones of the dead.
Related Idioms
- "Tiền mất tật mang": (An idiom related to health, sometimes involving conditions like "tiểu đường"—diabetes, as an example of a "tật" or chronic ailment one might acquire).
- Ăn uống vô độ dễ dẫn đến tiểu đường, đúng là tiền mất tật mang. (Eating recklessly can lead to diabetes, a true case of losing money and gaining illness.)