trời biển
Definition
- Noun:
- Sky and sea: A compound noun literally referring to the sky and the ocean as two vast, boundless entities.
- Immeasurable vastness / Immensity: The primary figurative meaning describes something of enormous scale, limitless extent, or profound depth, often used to express extreme gratitude or immense qualities.
Usage Examples
- Noun (Literal):
- Trước mắt chúng tôi là một khoảng trời biển mênh mông. (Before us was an expanse of sky and sea.)
- Noun (Figurative):
- Ơn nghĩa ấy thật là trời biển. (That debt of gratitude is truly immense.)
- Tình yêu của mẹ bao la như trời biển. (A mother's love is as vast as the sky and sea.)
Advanced Usage
- Used almost exclusively in a poetic, literary, or highly expressive context to emphasize boundlessness. It functions as a metaphor and is rarely used in literal, everyday descriptions of scenery.
Variants and Related Words
- Bao la (adj): vast, immense. Often used similarly to describe sky, sea, or abstract concepts.
- tình yêu bao la (boundless love)
- Mênh mông (adj): vast, expansive.
- biển mênh mông (the vast sea)
Synonyms
- Immensity: The quality of being immense.
- Boundlessness: Having no limits.
- Vastness: Very great extent or size.
Related Idioms and Phrases
- Công ơn trời biển: An idiom meaning "immense debt of gratitude" or "boundless favor."
- Công ơn cha mẹ như trời biển. (The debt owed to parents is as vast as the sky and sea.)
- Tình nghĩa trời biển: Deep, immeasurable love and obligation.
- Họ đã giúp đỡ tôi với tình nghĩa trời biển. (They helped me with an immense, heartfelt kindness.)