Definition

1. Noun:

   • Apple: A common, round fruit with smooth skin and crisp, sweet or tart flesh, typically red, green, or yellow in color. This is the most common meaning, especially for the cultivated fruit known as "táo tây" (Western apple).
   • Jujube, Chinese date: A small, round or oval fruit from the jujube tree, often red or brown when ripe. This refers to "táo ta" (local/Asian apple) or "táo tàu" (dried jujube).
   • Apple tree, Jujube tree: The tree that bears the respective fruit.

2. Adjective (colloquial, short form):

   • Constipated: Suffering from constipation. This is a shortened colloquial form of "táo bón".

Usage Examples

• Noun (Fruit):

  • Tôi thích ăn một quả táo mỗi ngày. (I like to eat an apple every day.)
  • Bà ngoại tôi thường dùng táo tàu để nấu chè. (My grandmother often uses dried jujubes to make sweet soup.)
  • Trong vườn nhà tôi có một cây táo. (There is an apple/jujube tree in my garden.)

• Adjective:

  • Trẻ nhỏ uống ít nước dễ bị táo. (Young children who drink little water easily get constipated.)

Advanced Usage

• "Ông Táo" (Kitchen Gods): Refers to the three Vietnamese Kitchen Gods who report to the Jade Emperor on the household's affairs each year on the 23rd day of the last lunar month.
  • Gia đình tôi cúng ông Táo vào ngày 23 tháng Chạp. (My family makes offerings to the Kitchen Gods on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month.)

Variants and Related Words

• Táo tây: Specifically refers to the common apple ().
• Táo ta / Táo gai: Specifically refers to the jujube or Chinese date ().
• Táo tàu: Refers to the dried jujube fruit, often used in cooking and traditional medicine.
• Táo bón (noun) / Táo bón (adjective): The full term for constipation/constipated.
• Táo bạo (adjective): Audacious, daring, bold (a completely different word; homophone).

Synonyms

• For "táo" (apple): Pomme (French loanword, archaic/poetic).
• For "táo" (jujube): Hồng táo (another term for jujube, especially red ones).
• For "táo" (constipated): Bí, khó đi.

Related Phrases

• Nóng trong người, sinh ra táo: A traditional medicine concept meaning internal body heat leads to constipation.
  • Ăn nhiều đồ chiên rán dễ bị nóng trong người, sinh ra táo. (Eating a lot of fried food can cause internal heat, leading to constipation.)

Related Idioms

• "Ăn táo độc": Literally "to eat a poisonous apple"; can be used metaphorically to mean accepting something harmful that appears attractive, akin to the story of Snow White.
  • Ký hợp đồng đó chẳng khác nào ăn táo độc. (Signing that contract is no different from eating a poisonous apple.)

1. apple
   • quả táo

noun

1. (táo ta) jujube, jujubetree, Chinese date.
2. (táo tây) apple, apple-tree