trông
- Verb:
- To look, to see: To perceive with the eyes; to direct one's gaze.
- To look after, to take care of: To watch over, guard, or mind someone or something.
- To look toward, to face: To have a view or an orientation in a certain direction.
- To hope for, to expect: To await or anticipate something, often with a sense of hope.
Verb (To look/see):
- Tôi trông thấy một con chim trên cành cây. (I see a bird on the tree branch.)
- Cô ấy trông ra cửa sổ mỗi sáng. (She looks out the window every morning.)
Verb (To look after):
- Bạn có thể trông cháu bé giúp tôi một lúc không? (Can you look after the baby for me for a while?)
- Người bảo vệ trông coi tòa nhà suốt đêm. (The guard watches over the building all night.)
Verb (To face):
- Căn phòng này trông ra biển. (This room faces the sea.)
- Cửa chính trông về hướng nam. (The main door faces south.)
Verb (To hope/expect):
- Chúng tôi đang trông tin từ anh ấy. (We are hoping for news from him.)
- Đừng trông chờ quá nhiều vào kết quả đó. (Don't expect too much from that result.)
"trông chừng": to keep an eye on, to watch over carefully.
- Hãy trông chừng túi xách của bạn ở nơi đông người. (Keep an eye on your bag in crowded places.)
"trông mong": to hope, to look forward to (often with stronger emotional anticipation than just "trông").
- Cả gia đình trông mong ngày cô ấy trở về. (The whole family looks forward to the day she returns.)
"trông nom": to take care of, to attend to (similar to "trông coi").
- Bà ấy trông nom khu vườn rất cẩn thận. (She takes care of the garden very carefully.)
Trông đợi (verb): to wait for, to anticipate. Combines the senses of looking and waiting.
- Họ đang trông đợi một quyết định quan trọng. (They are awaiting an important decision.)
Trông coi (verb): to manage, to be in charge of, to oversee.
- Anh ấy trông coi cửa hàng cho bố mẹ. (He manages the store for his parents.)
- Nhìn (verb): to look, to glance (more neutral for the act of seeing).
- Chăm sóc (verb): to care for, to tend to (for the "look after" meaning).
- Ngóng (verb): to eagerly await, to look out for (for the "expect" meaning).
- Hướng về (verb phrase): to face, to orient toward.
Trông thấy (verb phrase): to catch sight of, to see.
- Tôi vừa trông thấy anh ta ở ga tàu. (I just saw him at the train station.)
Trông vào (verb phrase): to rely on, to depend on (often used with expectations).
- Chúng ta không thể chỉ trông vào may rủi. (We cannot rely solely on luck.)
Trông gà hóa cuốc: Literally "to look at a chicken and mistake it for a moorhen." Meaning: to be mistaken, to see things incorrectly, often due to carelessness or preconception.
- Anh đừng trông gà hóa cuốc, đó rõ ràng là chữ ký của giám đốc mà. (Don't be mistaken, that is clearly the director's signature.)
Trông mặt mà bắt hình dong: Literally "to look at the face and guess the shape." Meaning: to judge a person's character or background based solely on their appearance. Similar to "don't judge a book by its cover," but often used to imply that appearance can be indicative.
- Cô ấy trông rất hiền lành, đúng là trông mặt mà bắt hình dong. (She looks very gentle, it's true that you can tell by looking at her face.)
- to look to face, to open to to mind, to look after